Dramione adventures
by Ruthy4vrSmoaked
Summary: Before they start on their eight year, McGonagall forces the group on a teambuilding adventure. Will they be able to set aside grudges and long fostered anger and rekindle? Dramione, some other pairings, slow burn. Ignores the epilogue completely.
1. Cross some t's and dot some I's

**Chapter 1 Cross some t's and dot some I's**.

Hogwarts two weeks before start semester.

-oOo **Head Mistress office Professor McGonagall** oOo-

Checking out with concern the ten facing her, Minerva starts to speak,

"You have all expressed the intent to start on an 8th-year here at Hogwarts to compensate for your lost N.E.W.T.'s and a chance at graduation. I don't need to dwell on the reason why, every single one of you carries scars, some more than others." The uneasy shuffle underlined the animosity underneath. It was almost touchable. _If glares could kill_. "But none of you will re-enter these walls if you are not willing to set aside the hate and start with a new leaf. Each soul here present did things that they are not proud of, blood has been shed, and some might feel drowned by guilt and remorse. And probably some fails to understand what people are forced to do under the pressure of malevolent forces and if given a new chance never would do at all."

The brief silence forced the words to sink in.

"For this 8th-year, you will not belong to a specific House. You will all be Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw in one." Her finger in the air put a stop to the upcoming protests, "You can only attend this new academic year if you accept my challenge plus if you bring your assignment to a good end." She stared at them meaningfully, "The last thing I need is a toddler group attending classes, who can't work together and help restore peace inside these walls. This teambuilding challenge is meant to reshape your views and teach you to trust each other. Force you to listen, accept and forgive." The silence crisped, not even the portraits moved, "Have I made myself clear? If any of you isn't open-minded enough to give the other a chance, please use the door behind to leave this room."

Sitting behind the desk, Minerva breathed deep, without dropping her watch for a second. She read determination, resentment, guilt, and uncertainty. To her satisfaction, none of them chose to leave. "I'll be sending you to a fortress on the west coast of France for seven days, paired with duo's, where multiple challenges await you to be completed under time pressure. Wands nor magic are allowed, only your physical abilities: strength, agility, and intelligence. Don't be silly to think wards aren't in place to ensure such rule. Each challenge leads to the big end. If you fail, you are denied entry to attend your last year. If any of you is found guilty of sabotage, your presence will also be denied, regardless of the outcome." The nods said all she needed to know.

"Very well, then I'll proceed now with pairing you. I strongly advise you to use tonight as a new begin. And don't forget, miss the end mark, and you kiss your eight-year goodbye."

Scrapping her throat, she braced herself for the impending wave of objections as she started to read her list, "Neville and Theodore." Both men shared a look of disdain but nodded in understanding.

 _This pair was the least of her concerns_ , "Blaise and Lavender." Lavender blinked a few times, ogling the stud to her left. Blaise sighed in defeat, rolling his eyes, _this Gryffindor and intelligent in the same sentence? I'm done before I start._

"The next pair is Ron and Tracey," Minerva's words weren't even cold, or Tracey mumbled, "Hooray for me, I have the muscles but not the brain I'm so fucking lucky."

Ron simply cursed, "Fuck."

"Mister Weasley, Miss Davies, your language. Let's continue with Harry and Pansy." Hell broke loose. Four voices rose in volume, raging their frustrations.

"Professor McGonagall, you can't expect me to work together with HIM! He… He is…"

"Great, just what I need. Fuck my life. I need to vomit."

"I'm not working with scarhead. Ever! The golden boy, my arse."

"Perfect I'm paired with the Slytherin princess. Is there a brain underneath that hair?"

"WILL YOU ALL BE QUIET?" McGonagall lost her temper; which never happened, she was always in control. Her raised voice startled everyone, including all the portraits, even Dumbledore and Snape retreat a step or two. It took her three to four breaths to settle down, "Let me repeat my earlier remark, please feel free to leave this place immediately with that sorry behind of yours if you don't agree with my terms." Her eyes fire-sparked, "Well, who's first?"

Pansy and Harry bowed their heads, a particular silver blond kept his upright and his curly-haired partner lift up her chin. Minerva held her gaze on the two most defying faces, "For the record, let me officially name the last pair, Mr Draco and Miss Hermione."

You could hear a pin drop on the floor.

"The room of requirement is waiting for you. It will be your dining room for this evening and your sleeping quarters. I strongly advise you to use the rest of the day to clear the air and sleep decently. Indulge the luxury the room has to offer, because from tomorrow on there will be only basic needs. Compared to the facilities inside the stone walls, the cheapest room above the Leaking Cauldron will feel like a five-star accommodation."

Minerva hid her anger behind a cool mask, the childish display moments ago irked her to no end, "Just to be clear, the sleeping arrangements remain separate according to gender. Tonight and at the fortress. Now, head over to the room of requirement and start mending those resentments for the sake of your own skin and ambitions." Waving at the door, she could barely wait until they left to drown her despair with a big glass of Firewhiskey.

"Don't doubt the outcome, Minerva, this was a good decision." The baritone of the beloved former Head Master sounded behind her. She held two fingers against her forehead, "I don't know it anymore Albus, the hate is so alive."

Scrapping his voice the ex-death eater slash spy for the order added his two cents, "I know your biggest uncertainty lies in your doubt if Draco can redeem himself. The boy looks a carbon copy of his father physically, however, inside it's his mother's fire that runs through that blood. I hate to admit as I'm not a fan of the girl, but that know-all-swot might be the key to bring him into the light. They might surprise us all."

Sighing, she waived, "I hope to survive this and see it happen, Severus. I just simply don't know."

\- oOo **Room of Requirement** oOo-

The door was open, waiting for its guests. Lavender led the way, skipping, oblivious to the animosity among the group. The most of them dragged a foot in front of the other, the few walked at a steady pace feeling powerless.

There was no other option than to accept their fate, it was the only hurdle on the path of returning for their last year at Hogwarts. What choice did they have left? They had to cooperate with their enemy, there was no other way around it. They doubted strongly on the sanity of their new Head Mistress, wondering if any rock fell on her head during the battle and jeopardised her common sense.

They entered the mini version of the Great hall, five separate tables each with two chairs in a circle, a flag fluttering with an invisible breeze appointed the tables to each pair, who took their seats under grunting, cursing or sighing.

 **Neville and Theo**

Neville eyed Theo wanting to break the ice, but Theo beat him, "Longbottom man, I don't want to keep grudges alive. I'm really sorry for any pain I inflicted. If war taught me anything, it was to live according to my own beliefs, not someone else's. We were canon meat to them, dispensable. Can we shake hands and try to make it work?" His stretched out hand waited for the young Gryffindor to accept his apologies.

Neville accepted it, he was not a man to keep venom inside his heart, "Just don't give me a reason to regret the offered white flag." While they ate, they debated the challenges they might be up against.

 **Blaise and Lavender**

"I wonder if the fortress has a tower, taking us back to the fairy tale time with a knight to save his princess from her doomed fate," dreaming out loud, Lavender bit on a piece of pudding.

Blaise prayed silently in his head to every god and wizard for patience, "Woman, I start to think that if we succeed at any of those challenges, it will be based on pure luck."

She flashed him her biggest honey-sweet smile, "I know you regret being part of the wrong side of war Blaise, but don't worry I'll take care of you." Batting her eyelashes.

Shaking his head, he eyed her horrified, "That's supposed to calm me down?"

"Relax your stance Bon-Bon, Lav-Lav will attend to all your needs…"

 _Merlin save me._ He checked her out with a sight, doubting heavily on her mental health, _Bon-Bon my arse_.

 **Ron and Tracey**

Tracey didn't hide her loathing, "Ginger, let me get this straight. I don't like you for one bit."

"Can't agree more, likewise," Ron saluted Tracey mocking, "But, do we have a choice?"

She sneered, "That senile old woman has lost her bits in the war."

"Bitch, I don't like you, you don't like me fine. But refrain from offending a woman has more courage than you'll ever possess and who I respect tremendously. I don't see the benefits of this," Ron's finger circling in the air, "Yet, I'm going with the flow. I suggest you do the same." His eyes roamed over the food until they settled on the biggest turkey leg he could find, "Eat!"

Tracey mumbled, "Neanderthal."

Smiling with his mouth full, he raised the turkey leg, "Nice to meet you!"

 **Harry and Pansy**

Harry wiggled his hands, unable to hide his uneasiness and worry. _Parkinson never refrained from bullying him or his friends, and now he was all of a sudden forced to work with her?_ _How in Merlin's name did that sound a good idea to McGonagall?_

"Parkinson…"

"Potter, I don't care about you, the golden boy, the boy who lived or the blah-blah-blah title you own nowadays. What I do care about? Return here, my safe haven. If I have to work with you, so be it. We will use our brain and be agile, the muscle I leave it to you every time. Now, we know both pretty much where the brains are in this group." Her finger waved between them, emphasising on the we-word, "WE have one task at hand above our own: make sure those two don't murder each other." Nudging her chin at Draco's and Hermione's table, "There's where the intelligence is. I'm not saying you are dumb," holding her hands up, a fork stuck between her fingers, "We all know this war was won by you, thanks to her witty brain."

Grunting in agreement he nodded, "Are you worried Draco will do something?"

"I fear your girl. If looks could kill, my boy was dead by now. I'm not saying he is a saint, I would be lying if I did. But he suffered; you have no idea to which extent, nor what he had to endure. Imagine this, your father hands you over to a maniac like an offer? Your mother is threatened, right in front of your face? It changes people. Tell me, Potter, what would you do if you were in his place?"

Harry interjected, "I would have fought."

'Sorry I forgot for a moment that I'm talking to Saint Potter." She waved her hand dismissively, sighing, "Anyway, I need your help. Keep your girl in check, I'll keep an eye on my friend. And pray. The two need work together despite her hate."

He hissed at his table companion, "Can you blame Hermione? When did you make her feel welcome? Considered her a friend? Fill me up, please, I must have missed an episode."

She surrendered, "Okay, okay, agreed, we fucked up. To our defence, all this bullshit was fed to us like hot porridge. I am sorry, and if I could go back in time I would be different, act differently. I can't change the past, neither can you. Deal with it."

"Humph, for now, Parkinson."

 **Draco and Hermione**

Hermione was engaged in a staring contest, pulling chunks slowly from a chicken drum and chewing on it. Her scowling face told him a few things: collaborating with a python would be more comfortable. Yet he refused to back down, staring at her apparently unfazed - a mask he learned to master under the scrutiny glare of his father.

"Granger…" he was about to start but snapped his mouth shut at the 'zip it'-gesture she showed him.

"Malfoy, listen very carefully. You will not fuck up my only chance at graduation. I will do whatever it takes to reach that goal. Your sorry arse doesn't need to work thanks to the overstuffed vaults at Gringotts, but I don't have that kind of luxury. I suggest you keep that pure-blood-loving mouth shut unless we need to communicate and you bring your A-game into this, or I'll make you regret your existence." If he had any doubt, her tone cleared them all up; he wasn't stupid to ignore she was a force to be reckoned with, even wandless. She counted on her fingers, "Simple rules: no touching unless necessary, no name calling, no mocking my friends. Fail one, and I'll show you what I can do without a wand. _Capiche_?"

"Clear miss Granger, clear as water." He said, thinking, _for now._

It was evident to all pairs but one. Their best chance at success rested on the capacity of two people sitting at the quietest table. Also, they knew Hermione was giving the former Death Eater a run for his money; ignoring him completely when she finished with what she had to say.

McGonagall's intention - lay the ground layer for a new era - was doomed to fail. Or so they thought before they headed to the separate dorms for a good night's sleep.


	2. Day One

**Chapter 2: Day One**

During a plentiful breakfast, the housemates sat at a long table like birds of a feather that flock together, Neville and Theo were the connecting duo who engaged in chitchat of sorts. "I wonder where McGonagall found this team building fort?" Theo inquired, icebreaking.

Neville observed, "What I'm more nervous about not be allowed to use magic. I'm not the greatest athlete."

Blaise jumped in, "Who is? We practised mostly on flying and playing Quidditch. Fighting a war gives you battle experience, but I don't think we will need that."

"I sense some hostility, but nothing that will require self-defensive skills," Lavender corrected her foreseeing act fastly, "For the most of us."

Pansy, Draco and Harry exchanged apprehensive looks, Hermione ignored them all, keeping a low chat going on with Ron.

 **-oOo Fortress of Boyard –oOo-**

The ten arrived at the gates of the stone fortress early in the morning, with the Portkey provided by the Headmistress. The gatekeeper took them to their sleeping quarters through the maze of tunnels, under the complaints from Ron and Pansy about the many staircases until they reached the dungeon level. On the contrary of the other two, Neville and Hermione enjoyed the sight of the stone walls, "To me, this fortress belongs to the time of the Middle Ages. The secret prison for the GreyJoy's clan."

Neville made Hermione burst into a laugher, "You read the book 'A Song of Fire and Ice', Neville?"

He shrugged, "I like the dragons…"

She touched his arm, leaning closer to him, "I'm team Drogon," the sly smile followed her eyewink.

Theo joked, "I'm surprised that you chose the big black dragon, the most furious of the three."

Eyeing him warily, she asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Relax Hermione, it is my favourite Draco too." Theo teased her, winking back at her. His hint was not lost but got ignored, "He's quite a rebel force indeed. Needs a strong hand to control, something Daenerys excelled at."

"Between you and the Targaryen princess," Blaise pitched in, "The only difference is the hair colour. You are both rebels, strong-minded and powers to be reckoned with, fearless hearts."

Tightening her lips and chin, she stared at him for a second before shrugging and continuing her path downwards, "I've heard worse." Deciding to give them the benefit of the doubt, she eyed Slytherins cautiously, even Pansy hadn't said a wrong word to her since yesterday. Maybe they were as invested as she was to return to Hogwarts. She needed all her focus on the challenges coming up, and hated to be clueless. Also, preventing her from beating the crap out of the blond wizard, a few steps ahead of her.

Pansy nudged Draco's shoulder while walking, "You okay, Draco?"

He grunted, "For now." He paced fast behind their guide at the head of their group, to avoid any contact with Hermione. The sound of the talking carried with ease through the walls, and he listened to the teasing talk between Hermione and the boys in her company. Theo's jab irritated him, _my favourite Draco, my arse, Theo, be less visible._

Their guide, a goblin who introduced himself as Gnarluk, grunted unintelligible words, a few drown out by the jingle of keys on his hand. He stopped at the end of the hall and pointed first at the boys and to their right side, groaning. He repeated the gesture to the girls, concerning the opposite side.

Their quarters were primary, bare stone walls, bunk beds and shower facilities behind a wall, almost no room for privacy. The girls sighed in unison, "Damn, McGonagall didn't exaggerate. This is basic needs only." Pansy sat on one of the beds and bounced up and down, "At least the mattresses are decent, not heavenly but they'll do. Girls, how do we split?"

Hermione spoke first, "I'll sleep in the lower bed, Lavender do you want to take the upper one?"

Pansy faced Tracey, "I sleep upstairs, Tracey dear, catch me if I fall, will you honey?"

The other witch snorted, "In your dreams Pansy Pans." All the girls laughed.

The Slytherin witch thought with relief, _At least here no problems to be expected, for now,_ before addressing the Gryffindor Princess, "Granger, could I have a word with you?" Pansy touched Hermione's arm lightly guiding the brunette to a corner, "I have no right to ask you this, but I'm doing it anyway."

Hermione nodded.

Pansy continued, "I know Draco was an arsehole to you. But he's trying to mend his actions, and I know that he's keeping an open mind about this whole thing, so I'm asking you to give him an honest chance." Pansy pleaded, keeping a hand on the other witches' arm, "Please, Granger?"

The brunette witch closed her lips tightly, "Parkinson, no promises. Much will depend on how he acts."

"I take what I can, at this point." Pansy shook her head lightly, "I want to apologise too, for my actions. I regret all I did and said in the past, Granger. I hope you can find a way to accept and forgive me."

"You want me to forgive you?" Hermione's eyes were fixed on the other witch, "Than start by calling me Hermione instead of Granger, Pansy. Rome wasn't built in a day, wounds need time to heal."

"I can't ask for more, Hermione. Really can't ask for more."

 **-Boy's room-**

Neville took the upper bed to stretch his full body without obstructing anyone's night's rest, "This is my bed, guys."

Harry and Ron fought for the possession of the upper level playing a small rock, paper and scissors game which ended with Ron gleaming at Harry, "You can't win them all, Harry!"

Draco side eyed the whole event, but felt his shoulder being jabbed by Blaise, "Up or down?"

The blond shrugged his shoulders, "Don't care, you choose."

"I take the upper one, you can lay down below me. For once I stand above you."

The blond snorted, "Mate, don't illusion yourself too hard, it's only sleeping arrangements. If you fall, tough nuggets for you." His anxiety was rising: his first challenge and work with Hermione. He didn't doubt her psychical skills, her endurance nor her tenacity. What he didn't need was a bushy-haired swot on his back, blaming him for all the plagues of Egypt even if some were justified.

The wizards sat one by one on the lower beds, waking up Draco from his doom daydreaming. Harry started to spill his beans, "I think it's necessary for us to clean the air. The war is over; we all have had our share in it and all the blah blah blah. Rome hasn't been built in a day, all our grudges won't disappear like snow in the sun. However, I want that 8th year and if I need to bury the hatchet to achieve it, count me in."

Ron grunted, "Harry, I…"

Harry retorted, "Ron, yes. You might not like them all, I don't either. I'm not asking you to profess your love and go for ice creams. If we continue to have prejudices against each other, then we have fought in vain."

Blaise butted in, "Potter," extending his hand, "I'm Blaise Zabini, a first class son of a bitch." He rolled his hand, gesturing 'you know what else', "I come from Italy, and I've known this prat here almost all my life," nodding at Draco, "Nice to meet you." Draco snorted, as Harry took Blaise's hand in a gentleman's handshake, "Harry, from 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging." They all burst into laughter.

Draco grabbed his courage and extended his hand towards Ron, "I can't go back in the past and fix it, but I am truly sorry for what happened with Fred. Your twin brothers always made Hogwarts feel a bit lighter with their jokes." The laughter died off, and five pairs of eyes glared intensely at the ginger-haired wizard, who's his glare was fixed on the pale hand before him.

"Malfoy, fuck." Ron closed his eyes, trying to keep himself composed; Harry nudged him mouthing, _C'mon mate, be better._ "Fred…" He rose to his feet and walked towards the small window high up the wall, facing it. Draco retreated his hand, feeling awkward and embarrassed, although hiding his face behind the stoic Malfoy mask, unaffected, his eyes gazing the floor.

Ron turned around, walked to Draco and reached his hand, "Harry is correct. You'll never be a mate or a friend. But you're not my enemy either, not anymore. And yes, Fred died, by someone else's doing, not yours. I appreciate your condolences." The blond wizard didn't hesitate and shook the ginger head's hand. He would not deny an extended hand, forgiving himself was hard enough already. Still, there was one question burning on his lips, "Any hints on how to deal with the Gryffindor princess?"

Harry and Ron crossed a look, sighed and spoke at the same time, Harry started, "Malfoy, Hermione is a temperamental thing, the volcanic kind."

Ron added, "True, and I can know it, I've been enough on the end side of her fire to know it."

Harry contributed, "Malfoy, avoid lectures, don't use your M word. – Though if you hurt her our peace offer is off the table."

Blaise raised a finger to intervene, "Potter, we are more concerned if our man will make it out alive, her hexes are legendary."

Ron snorted, nodding, "I know, Zabini."

Harry stared at Draco, "Try to be humble, not the arrogant arse. Throw a genuine apology or two for the use of that M word. You know how misplaced that one turned out to be, right?"

Blaise couldn't let go of his curiosity, "Weasley, allow me one piece of gossip. You and Granger?"

Ron shook his head, "We tried to go down that road, but we think of each other more like siblings than as life partners. It was ruining our friendship, and we left that road just in time."

"So she's single?" Blaise kept poking.

"I think so, but she's no one's fuck buddy, so keep your little me in your pants, Zabini."

Offering his hands up in peace, Blaise deflected, "I'm asking for a friend," glancing for a second at Draco, who gave him a death glare in return, with a snarky whisper, "Blaise, drop it."

-o0o-

They all met in the central atrium of the fortress, wearing the sports attire provided, the bottoms Slytherin green shorts, the top's Gryffindor red skin-tight tank shirts and black sneakers. Harry voiced loud everyone's thoughts, "McGonagall's hilarious attempt at House mingling. It could have been worse."

Blaise gave all the girls a run-over, "Potter, for once I agree with you," whistling, "The eye wants some too…"

Pansy responded in kind, "We are admiring your abs and pectorals as much as you fancy our arses and the size of our breasts, now in full display." Heading over to Draco she patted on his abdomen with a wicked look, "If you all are done sizing up the merchandise, maybe we can start."

They heard a scrap of a throat, noticing two goblins behind them. Gnarluk began to growl his speech, "Per day a challenge, retrieve key or hint. Lose challenge and you locked in jail for a day. You need minimum 10 keys and on day seven, the big challenge with keys and hints, to find the answer to the riddle. Trophy at the end. All clear?"

Hermione answered sarcastically, "Crystal."

Pointing at Neville and Theo, the other goblin motioned them to follow. They leave the group while Gnarluk indicated a finger towards a big screen behind them. Harry exclaimed, "We can follow the challenges from here?" A grunted "Yes" was followed by Blaise's "Cool" behind the goblin's back.

 ***Neville and Theo***

They followed the fast pacing goblin, and after running through multiple stairs and halls, they arrived at a heavy wooden door. A finger points at a page explaining the challenge, Neville read out loud: "One player must move a barrel from one side of the maze to the other. The path must be cleared by a second player for this object. The key - attached to an immobile barrel - is released by using the tool fixed on the used barrel."

The goblin pointed at a sand-glass and showed five fingers, Theo asked to be sure, "Timed challenge? 5 minutes?" The mute goblin nodded, motioning a lock movement if time ran out.

"Okay Neville, one moves the barrel, the other makes room free to navigate. What do you prefer?"

"I'll push the barrel forward, will you move the others?"

Theo raised his hand, "High five, mate?"

Neville slapped back, "Let's do this."

The door cracked open, and as the two entered, the goblin slammed it shut, and locked them in, "Holly shit, these guys really mean it."

Theo became slightly nervous, but Neville clapped his shoulder, "Hey relax, we've got this."

They found the barrel quickly, and Neville started pushing it, grunting at the exert of strength he had to employ, "This weights a ton." He got the hang of it, under the supportive shouts from Theo, "You can do this."

While Theo moved one barrel at the time, some light, others really crude and bulky; Neville navigated through a maze of more than 20 barrels, both breathing hard from exhaustion. In between, both grunted multiple 'Fuck's' and 'Shit's'. Neville kept an eye on the sand-glass, calculating they had already lost more than three and a half minutes by the time they arrived at the end. Working as fast as they could, they were finally able to shove the side of the barrel with the tool as close as possible to the key, with Theo releasing it from its locker.

They sprinted towards the already open door and moved forward - with the little energy they still had left - to join the others, eager to tell them about their proof. Hermione was waiting for them with two bottles of water, "Amazing what you did, I imagine those barrels were heavy as hell?"

"How do you know?" Theo stopped dead on his track, eyeing her curiously and noticing the huge smiles on everyone's faces.

"We followed it on this big screen," She pointed to the big black device behind her, "If I recollect this right, Blaise called this-"

Blaise jumped in, "Cool! I called this cool, mate," High five'ing Theo, "This is awesome."

 ***Ron and Tracey***

They all analysed Neville and Theo's challenge - except for Lavender. Hermione summed up, "There's the time limit issue on top of the difficulty level." The rest nodded in acknowledgement, "And they take us per couple separate, but the remaining group is not in a position to help. So not only time is important, but also figuring out the fastest way is a required skill."

Glares exchanged between them, assessing their weakest link. Lavender confirmed their unspoken conclusion, with her silly remark, "I hope those cells are comfortable, will there be room service?"

Blaise growled, slamming a palm against his face.

Draco flashed a look at Hermione who rolled her eyes at the idiocy. For a second, he thought to hear her mumble, "You'll find out soon enough, methinks."

The goblin came and pointed at Ron and Tracey, who set off at a pace. Halfway Ron reached out for Tracey's hand to pull her with him, "Tracey, push it harder, girl."

She was puffing, "I'm going as fast as I can," though, she was relieved that Ron didn't leave her behind.

Before they knew, the pair arrived at the front of another massive door. The detailed page was nailed against the wooden frame, and Tracey read it aloud as soon as she regained her breath, "Challenge The Board, the participant has to walk over a board until the end to collect the key."

The goblin showed them the sand-glass, five fingers and opened the door allowing them to enter the sunlit room, locking it soon after. A surfboard of sorts occupied the place, pivoted at the centre as a seesaw. Figuring it out quickly, Ron starts off, explaining in between, "I'm getting on it, walk over to the end, grab the key and we're done."

"It sounds too easy Ron, I think you'll have to be careful, it seems to be a balance trick." Ron's assessment gave Tracey a wary feeling.

"Let me try." His first step on the board confirmed Tracey's suspicions. It shifted with weight, and Ron had no foothold in it. "Bloody hell, I can't get on it."

"Ron, try to make that first step closer to its centre point," suggested Tracey, fearing he would fall. He made a far-reaching step, passing almost half of its first-half. The shift was minimal, and he used his balance to his right leg to move his full weight onto the board. It shook but remained stable.

He faced her, flashing a huge smile and a thumbs up, "Thanks, Tracey!" He took a moment to breathe deeply, "Okay now to the other side." Shovelling slowly forward, soon he learned it was impossible to get to the key alone, "Tracey, I think we need to do this together."

"How, Ron?"

His stress kicked in "Shit, we only have half a time left, Trace."

"Means at least a two and a half minutes."

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

Hermione grunted, "Ron, move on damn it!" They watched the scene unfold, especially the small countdown clock that flashed 2 minutes. Harry shook his head, figuring it out earlier than Ron, "He will need Tracey to balance the board while he moves, otherwise no key."

Blaise agreed, "I think your bro just reached the same conclusion. Luckily for him, he's a big guy, the cord is too high up for Tracey to reach."

Draco and Theo nodded, "Yeah, you are correct, but the ginger head isn't stupid. If they work together, he'll pull it off." Draco's comment surprised Hermione, but she kept her gaze on the screen, showing no emotion.

They followed on the screen how the ginger wizard kept his balance, stretching out a hand to help Slytherin witch on board. Once stable, Ron and Tracey moved in unison away from each other until Ron whisked the key from its holding. Jumping coordinated on the floor, Ron and Tracey made it out with only 10 seconds left.

-oOo **Ron/Tracey** oOo-

"Bloody hell, that was intense." Ron's blue eyes were shining brightly at Tracey, smiling widely at her, while he dangled the key.

She surprised him by hugging him tightly, beaming, "I can't wait for another challenge, Ron. This is awesome."

He froze for a moment, her excitement and feeling her arms around him, threw him off guard. He forced a smile, "Let's get back to the group, show them we made it." He snaked an arm around her shoulders instinctively, nudging her close, as they started on their way back, at a more relaxed pace. Stealing a look, he thought, _this Slytherin witch is not that bad after all_.

Harry welcomed him with a huge high five, "That was a close call buddy, you barely made it."

"I had a good partner in crime." Ron winked at Tracey, keep his arm around her, before accepting everyone's congratulations.

Pansy bumped Tracey, smiling smugly at the witch, who cut her loose from Ron, "Hugging the ginger head eh?"

A big blushed crawled over the other witch's face, "He's not so bad, Pans."

Smirking, the Slytherin princess poked the bear some more, "Not so bad… oh, boy."

 ***Blaise and Lavender***

A grunt was the only thing Blaise and Lavender heard, to know it was their turn. They followed promptly, but it was soon evident Lavender had zero endurance, puffing and complaining about the speed. Blaise had to demand the goblin to wait several times, giving Lavender the time to catch up. Thankfully for wizard and witch, it wasn't far away.

Their challenge was symbolised by a strong arm, painted on the parchment right under the sand glass. Blaise growled, "I guess I'm up," barely disguising his horror when Lavender leaned against him; patting his biceps, "I know you will nail this, these are not made from foam, Bon-Bon."

His face grimaced, "Woman, get a grip please."

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

Pansy broke into laughter, "Poor Blaise. Lav-Lav wants a piece, and he wants to run away."

Hermione joined in, "Ron, can you give Blaise some advice? You know she can be kinda gluey."

Ron screwed up his face, "Hermione, please just don't. I feel bad for him already."

But Hermione mocked him further, "Oh, Lav-Lav." She sent him kisses and batted her eyelashes several times. Pansy grasped her belly, from laughing so hard.

The laughter rose high within the group. Draco mumbled to Harry, "Karma can be a bitch. You really shouldn't mess with Granger."

Harry nodded, "Hermione's wrath can be epic, believe me."

Ron's face was tomato red, gesturing his palm at his throat, for Hermione to cut it. She stuck her tongue out in return.

-oOo **Blaise/Lavender** oOo-

The pair got locked inside, and Lavender gasped at the sight of a man with the looks of a sumo wrestler sitting at a table.

Gritting through his teeth, Blaise sat down, faced the man and looked up, praying to the higher powers for a miracle, _There's no way I can beat this bloke_.

They grasped hands, and Blaise sensed his arm being pushed to the side almost immediately. Calling on every ounce of strength he possessed, he pushed back hard barely preventing his hand from hitting the table.

Lavender's comments were not improving his mood, "Blaise, C'mon push again, use your muscles."

He growled through his teeth at her, "Woman, what the hell do you think I'm doing?"

"You are not doing it strong enough, push harder baby."

"I'm not your baby."

"You will be, Bon-Bon. I will not let you down."

"Thank god the atrium has no sound." He closed his eyes while making a more laborious effort to push the other man's arm for at least a fraction of an inch. His muscles were strained and covered by a layer of sweat from exertion.

He stopped listening to her comments, her last "Hmm," left him wondering what else could come from the enervating witch. As by wonder, he felt the pressure from the man's arm relax, at first lightly, but soon the man stopped pushing at all. Blaise noticed the man loss of focus, staring at some point behind him.

Grabbing the moment, Blaise gave a firm push, and the man's knuckles slammed hard against the table. Relieved, Blaise rose his arms in the air in victory, "Yes!"

Turning around, the puzzle fell into pieces, Lavender was seducing the man, her tongue wetting her lips and fingers ghosting over her breasts. Blaise was stupefied, his eyebrows nearly disappeared in his hairline "What the hell, woman?"

"What are you complaining about? It's thanks to my beautiful curves that you won the damn challenge. You should be thanking me. Now, let's get out of here." She grabbed his arm and pulled him behind her, marching back to the group.

Blaise never felt this awkward when they arrived at the group. Theo and Draco had at least the decency to hide their grins behind their hands, while the others doubled from laughter. His embarrassment was complete when Lavender put her hands on his face and pecked a loud kiss on his lips, "Now, that's what I call a thank you."

Blaise wished he could dig a hole to hide when he heard Draco and Theo cave and join the others the fun.

A barked announcement, put a stop to the laughter, "First lunch, then you and you," pointing at Pansy and Harry.

Harry saluted the goblin, marching right behind him.

 ***Harry and Pansy***

Their lunch consisted of simple sandwiches and soft drinks. Hermione and Harry sighed at the sweet youth memory, sipping from the Coke can. The others enjoyed their first sparkling soda, delighted, "We need to sneak in some of these to Hogwarts," Theo suggested, receiving a simultaneous "Agreed!" from the gang.

Their break was short-lived, Harry and Pansy were forced to follow. Pansy clapped on Harry's shoulder, "It's you and me now, Potter. But don't expect me to flash a boob."

Harry flashed his puppy eyes, batting his eyelashes at her, "Really? I'm kind of hungry, puhlease?" Her grumpy face told him enough.

Their run through the walls of the fortress ended again at a set of heavy doors. Pansy gave it a quick read while the page blazed with the wind, "Players are handcuffed to each other and a pipeline, have to move together, navigate through valves and so on until they reach the end and grab the key to cut loose."

She faced Harry, "You and me in handcuffs? I prefer to play that game somewhere else, Potter."

Harry chuckled, "A tit for tat."

The goblin hooked Pansy right arm with Harry's left over the pipeline and their other free wrists separately to the pipe. Showing them again the fingers, he locks them in, and the pair starts immediately to move synchronised forward. "Alright Potter, we'll have to cooperate with our linked hands to open these valves."

"I follow you, let's do this and get out within our five-minute window."

They cooperate as if it was something they did for years, one requesting more arm freedom to open a valve, the other asking it in return when it was closer to him or her. Three and a half minutes later, two grinning faces winked at each other and high fived, massaging their free wrists while walking back to the atrium.

On their way back Pansy pondered, "I hope Draco and Hermione find a way to work together as you and me."

Harry nodded, "You and me both."

 ***Draco and Hermione***

They watched on screen how easy Harry and Pansy had teamed up and faced each other. Hermione approached Draco, "We can do the same I hope."

"Granger, I'm game. It will do no one good if we fight each other and end up losing our trials." Draco's remark came softly out of his mouth; _will she let her grudges go?_

Harry ran up to her with a worried look on his face, grabbed an arm en took her aside, "Hermione, these challenges are really cool. Enter with an open mind 'Mione, try work with him peacefully and enjoy it to the fullest. Don't let your grudges kill the buzz, wildcat."

"I don't want a free day jail sitting. I'll play it cool, no fighting unless provoked." She agreed, "I hope Malfoy does the same."

"Believe me, Hermione, he will. Pansy told me he's trying to redeem himself." He rubbed her arms, studying her face, "We called it a truce in the boy's room, even Ron and Draco have reached a sort of understanding. Do the same, 'Mione. Do it for me, please."

"I'll try, Harry, I can't promise miracles, but I'll try."

Draco scraped his throat, "Granger, the goblin is here for us."

Her eyes shined with excitement, "I'm ready, Malfoy." Her smile threw him off, leaving him wondering, _has Saint Potter performed a miracle?_

They ran off, linking hands halfway as Hermione fell behind, unable to keep up with Draco's wide strides. Breathing heavy they arrived at their destination, and Draco started to read, "Revolving webs of bungee cords, two parts. One retrieves the tool, the other uses tool to release the key." He looked down at her, "I guess we should decide who does what inside. If the key is up high, I'll take the second part to my account."

She nodded, "I agree."

They entered the room like all the others before them, with a warning of five minutes before the door locked into place. "Here we go." Draco saw his guess become a reality, the key dangled high up on a bouncing cord, "You will have to start here, Granger."

Not losing one second to answer, she nodded and climbed up the web that revolved while she moved along to the right. Always listening to what Draco shouted at her, "Rise two quadrants up Granger. Now, wait until the cords are in a better position… it's time to move forward."

She faltered a step, dangling on her two arms and one foot, "Damn it."

Draco shouted, "Are you okay?"

She glanced down at him, "Yes, just a scare nothing more." Refocusing again on her path, she reached the tool at a faster pace, with more confidence about moving on the web. Retrieving the instrument was a piece of cake, and she returned to her starting point, handing it smoothly over to Draco, who climbed to meet her at her height, for the smoothest transition.

Draco tried to focus and guide her the best way but found it hard to maintain his attention, the shorts hugged her behind like a second skin, and the tank top left hid nothing, her lithe waist and the nicely shaped bosom, all out at his display. Taking a deep breath, he willed his body to regain composure before she would notice his arousal, _just how much did this witch hide under her robes._

She reached him faster than the outward journey, transferred the tool into his hands and made the intention to go back to the floor, but he stopped her for a second, touching her upper arm, "You sure that you are okay, Granger?"

His friendly tone unsettled her more than she gave away, "Don't worry, I'm fine." He started his path to the left, faster than her attempts, using his knowledge from watching her to his benefit.

Hermione followed his steps from the ground, advising him along the way, "Malfoy, wait a second… now is the moment." _Pay attention Granger, stop drooling!_ She had to admit she was having trouble focusing on being a good team player. From where she stood, she had a full display of his etched abdominals, and the outlines of his pectorals - his tank top had loosened up from his shorts, giving her a full view of his torso; his muscled legs flexing at each leap he took. He wasn't heavy built like Neville or Blaise but had an athletic build, stealth and muscular. _He is quite the perfect specimen of the male sex._

It was almost too late when she saw him do a breathtaking manoeuvre, she yelled, "Malfoy, what the hell are you doing, git?"

"This stupid cord runs away every time I try to grab it, Granger." He grunted between his teeth, sweat drops running through his face.

"You'll get hurt, Malfoy, try to swing to it." Her fear shone through her voice, feeling apprehensive about how far he was willing to go and make a dangerous move.

"Bad seed doesn't die easily." His grunted answer didn't appease her; instead, she watched terrified how he bounced back and forth on the web; swinging with an outstretched arm, the tool between his teeth. His hand got a hold on the bouncing cord with the key, but in the aftermath, he slipped on his feet, hanging on one arm, "Ugh! Fuck!"

"Malfoy!"

"Shut up." He got a grip again on the web, focused first on releasing the key and got down on the cords until he was low enough to jump.

She ran to him, grabbing tight the arm that had held his whole weight up, turning it around searching for a wound. Her fear was correct; he had a bleeding scrape on the back of his lower arm. "Malfoy, you git. What is this good for?"

"Why do you care?"

"Malfoy…" Her frustration was just below the skin, and she felt extremely irritated, "Let's get out first, so I can take care of this." The door was open, but they only had 30 seconds left to exit. Standing outside of the chamber, Hermione demanded from the goblin to show them the fastest way to their dungeons, dragging Draco behind her, her hand in a vice hold around his wrist.

He followed her meekly, stupefied, to the girl's chambers, and he got shoved on a lower bed. His partner left him alone for a few seconds cursing and mumbling, returning with her arms full of first aid supplies.

Hermione chose a dressing pad and some pink cleansing liquid and took his arm in her hand to start treating his scrape, but he stopped her movement with his free hand, "Granger, why do you care?"

"Malfoy."

"Why do you fucking care if I'm bleeding?"

"Malfoy, please let me take care of this…" His reluctance to cooperate was angering her to no limits.

He kept her wrist in his hand, pressing slightly harder when she tried to pry herself loose, "Granger, it's me, Malfoy, not one of your cosy idiots out there. Why do you fucking care?"

"Know what?" She released his arm, opened his hand and shoved the first aid pad into it, "Here's the pad, use that cleanser and do it yourself. I'm done with your whining about my reasons." Turning around, she marched toward the door.

His soft "Granger, wait… Hermione, please," made her stop at the threshold.

"What now, Malfoy?" her tone was cold, and she refused to face him before he answered her. Her anger was melting. To hear him say please and her given name in the same sentence made fissures in her walls.

"I'm sorry, I'm fucked up okay? I don't deserve any kindness from you, not after what happened in the Manor, or the way I've treated you all these years." She turned slowly around, watching him speak with his eyes on the floor, one hand shoved through his hair. He faced her, forehead creased, and eyes shut, drawing in a deep breath, "Hermione, can you help me? I understand bullocks of Muggle healing stuff, please."

"It's going to sting, and I'm not sorry for it." She pouted first, but soon one of the corners of her mouth turned up in a half smirk. He remained quiet, afraid of destroying her mood. Having a Granger smile beamed at him did something to his system.

 _If he only knew how to get through her, make her see he felt sorry for all his injustices. How he regretted being a coward when she needed him…_

Her actions were determined while tending to his arm. The pink solution she used, sting like a bitch, but he bit his tongue instead of whining as he did in the third year. It didn't take long before she had bandaged the wounded area, nodding satisfied. She pat on his head, "Did it hurt badly, baby? Want me to kiss it better?" The annoyed glare he gave her, made her laugh. She put everything away and waited until he joined her on her way back to the atrium, "If you need kisses, ask Lav-Lav, ha ha!" _I like to mock him._

Her wall built out of grudges, and long fostered anger was crumbling. It was useless to deny or prevent it from happening. She wondered if this side was a one-time thing or something she never saw before.

Time would tell, he wasn't yet on her right side, just a little less on her bad one.


	3. Day Two

**Chapter 3: Day Two**

Their day started earlier than usual. The goblins were no gentle wake-up callers, using a siren to announce breakfast was ready. Only Neville and Hermione didn't mind getting up early, all the others complained the hell out, for the ungodly hour, the uncomfortable bed and someone's snoring during the night.

Yesterday turned out surprising for everyone. Every pair apart from Blaise and Lavender worked together better than expected. Draco and Hermione returned to a watchful group, who were assessing the duo's mood from afar. They did not rejoice the new victory loud, fearing a wrong word would destabilise the delicate peace.

They ate in a better spirit than the night before, keeping company to their housemates instead of mingling. Before heading to their beds, the group wandered through the fortress until they found a passage overviewing the sea, enjoying the sunset. Nobody spoke, all falling asleep with the last thought on their minds, _the other party was not so bad after all_.

-oOo-

Blaise and Ron sounded the loudest when their misty eyes registered the simple breakfast, "Shit, man, where are the pancakes? And how old is this bread?"

Pansy whined as well, "Is it too much to ask for some fresh fruit or juice? What a nightmare."

Harry shrugged, "Propels me back to my time at the Dursley's. At least there's jam."

"It could be worse." Neville sighed, and Hermione nodded. "If we only had a toaster…"

Draco asked confused, "What's that for?"

"For some toast, what else? Or if it's the right model, for some grilled cheese."

Blaise blinked, "You know how to make grilled cheese?"

"Duh, you never cooked?"

All the purebloods shook their heads, except Ron, "I saw my mum cook, does that count?"

"You are an idiot." Hermione rolled her eyes. "But I miss my magic."

"Yeah, I miss the tea too," Theo spoke for the first time, now his brain caught up.

Hermione snapped her eyes open, "Why?"

Stretching his arm, Theo showed her the obvious, "Where's the hot water?" The brunette pointed the finger at a kettle. Shrugging his shoulders, the Slytherin offered his palms up, "Should I know what this contraption does?"

She threw her arms in the air, "How many of you want tea?" Nine hands up in the air and she mumbled, "Take away the wand and a wizard is helpless. Oh God, and then all the fuss about the muggles…"

Filling the kettle with enough water for ten, she turned it on and headed to the table to find eight confused faces, ranging from sleepy to curious. She pointed a finger, "Sit and eat! Or do you expect me to make your sandwich as well."

Ron grinned, "Chocolate please?" However, his grin died at her furious gaze, "It was worth a try." They started to make a choice from the offered varieties, which held a selection of French cheeses and cold cuts, two types of jam, butter and chocolate spread. The choice of bread was less extensive, only white and whole grain slices on display.

"I would do anything for one of those brioches from Hogwarts right now."

Lavender's whining worked on Blaise's nerves, "Why don't you flash a boob at to one of those goblins, Lav-Lav?"

She perked up, "Would it help?"

"Really woman? Have you no shame what so ever?" Pansy looked accusingly at her. Flirting with a boyfriend was one thing. Use your body to achieve goals, in this case, a simple type of bread, an entirely different one. Much to her astonishment, the other girl didn't see the problem, waving it away with a hand.

Nine heads turned to Hermione when a shrill came from the kettle. Hermione got up from her seat, shaking her head and brought the boiling kettle to the table, "Who knew you feared of an innocent teakettle?" She chuckled, adding some earl grey into a pot and pouring the warm water over it. "Even you Harry, I thought you would recognise the sound."

Lifting his hand, he admitted, "It's been a while…"

A half-hour after they arrived, Gnarluk motioned to the atrium, and the other goblin chose Harry and Pansy to follow him. "I guess there's no fixed sequence. C'mon Pansy, let's put our body to work. Kill the calories from breakfast."

Pansy snorted, "Which calories, Potter? Not those from some wheat bread with jam lacking sugar?"

Harry agreed with a half smile, "Aren't we spoiled? And before you attack me, I include myself in that comment." Pansy grunted with a nick from her chin.

 ***Harry and Pansy***

"Today's challenge: Excalibur, the mighty sword. Cut the rope and retrieve the key before it's too late." Harry and Pansy assessed their task at once: Inside, a sword stuck in a wooden stump. They needed to cut the item loose, which dangled from the ceiling, but if it fell into a pit, it became irretrievable.

"Stating the obvious, I cannot cut that rope with the sword, Potter. You'll have to use your muscles for that. I'll ensure we don't lose the key."

Harry side-eyed Pansy, "Speaking of sexism. Let's start this." He grunted loud while he pulled the sword out of his containment and swung it a few times at its target with less effect than desired. In no time he was sweating like a horse, flipping off his tank top when it stood more in his way than he liked.

Pansy whistled, "Oh my, the Golden Boy is quite a pleasure for the eye."

Harry flashed a very annoyed look, "Parkinson, drop it," and continued to cut through the rope as a saw, "Fuck this thing is blunter than a spoon."

"Now I see why Hermione keeps you to herself." Pansy kept licking her lips, Harry was more muscled than she thought, "I would do the same."

Harry stopped his movements, irritated, "Fuck, will you stop? Hermione and I are like brother and sister. She does not look at me that way, and at this very moment, your flirting is working on my nerves. Continue, and you'll be the one cutting this shit." He panted, "Are you done?"

"Okay, I've gotten the message. But you're sexy, and I didn't know it. Now I'll shut up."

"FYI, I'm taken. Ginny and I are together, in case you've missed."

"Shame." She shook under his scrutinising glare and motioned her lips closed. Harry restarted cutting under heavy grunting as it seemed not to improve a thing at this pace.

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

Lavender and Tracey whistled loud when they saw on screen how Harry undressed - flashing a well-defined upper body, "Shit girl, Hermione. You kept the goodies to yourself, eh lady?"

Hermione blushed deeply, "He's like a brother to me. I don't pay attention."

"Yeah, yeah, right. We believe you…not."

"It's the truth, he's Harry to me, not a stud."

Blaise intervened, bringing the attention of the women to four annoyed men, "Have mercy on our ego's. We are standing right here, and you are drooling over the boy-who-lived."

Lavender stated with shrugged shoulders, "Can you blame us? That's eye-candy right there. A touch of competition is never bad."

He tried to dismiss it, "Bah, as if there's competition between Potter and me."

"Why are you complaining then?" Tracey objected, "You know what they say, you can watch but not touch. Right, Hermione?"

"What are you implying?"

Lavender didn't hold back, "Haven't you tasted a sample of the goodies?"

Hermione's eyes were spitting fire, "Repeat that last bit?"

Neville intervened, "Calm down, girls. Enjoy the view if you like, but calm down."

"To cross some T's here, while we were in the forest, looking for Horcruxes, Harry and I didn't do anything. He's a brother to me, I don't think of him in any other way." Her temperament took the upper hand. The accusation stung after the big argument between her and Ginny, but also, Harry, and she had quite much trouble convincing Ron nothing had happened in the tent while he was gone. The last thing she needed was a rumour to unleash the seed of doubt once more.

Neville put himself between Hermione and Lavender, holding her both arms, "Hermione, nobody is implying anything, and if they are, then they are idiots. Calm down, please." His intense look at the other two girls told them to drop the subject.

Further away, Theo whispered to Draco, "The swot runs on a short fuse. Good to know."

"Theo, drop it before she hears you. Or she'll pick me as her favourite target practice. Again."

Ron remained silent. On the one hand, he was jealous of the female attention Harry unknowingly received, on the other Hermione's angered reaction awakened his uncertainty, _they always told him nothing happened but was it the truth? And, did it matter after all this time?_

Neville pushed Hermione to a corner further from the group, rubbing her arms, "You okay Hermione?"

She grumbled.

"Don't let them get to you, it was a dumb remark, meant to be fun. Not to imply a thing. Even if so, it's none of their business."

"But Neville, nothing happened!"

"I believe you and so does Ron. Consider them white noise, what they think shouldn't matter. Not on this subject."

"I don't know about Ron. I don't want him to think we lied."

"Have you?"

"No."

"That's all he needs to know. Now, let us watch Harry and Pansy solve their test."

She hugged him tight, "Thank you, Neville."

"You're welcome, sis."

-oOo **Harry/Pansy** oOo-

"Fuck, I'm halfway only." He changed between cutting and sawing, the progress minimal despite his efforts.

"I'm enjoying the view here, Potter. Nothing better for female eyes than watch a male sweat torso at work. Especially one with so muscular like yours."

"Will you fucking stop?"

"Why should I? You are eye-candy. Live with it." Pansy gave him a once-over, smiling smugly. His irritation was food for her devilish soul.

He snarled, "I've told you. I'm taken, and I'm not interested."

"I won't tell if you don't, Potter. If you have an itch to scratch, I'm willing to sacrifice. With a body like yours, forget sacrifice at all. I don't know what do first: Touch those pectorals or start licking my way down from your abs." Pansy spoke in a matter-of-factly way, checking her nails.

"Will…you…fucking…stop…I…'m…not…intere-sted!" Harry swung hard with the sword at every word, the last two using such a raw power that the cord snapped in two. "Oh!"

"Shit! Oh! Yes! I have it, Potter! Well done!" She waved the key in front of his face.

He was out of breath and barely acknowledged her pushing him forward towards the exit. The clock had only 30 seconds left. She released her hold on his arm, "You okay?"

"Shut up!"

"I'm sorry, well actually, I'm not sorry. You are eye-candy, full stop. But I was poking the bear, you see. Making you angry made you use more strength. Mission accomplished."

He looked annoyed at her from under his eyebrows, hands still on the knees catching his breath.

"You're okay. I hope Ginny knows how loyal you are. I hope one day a man that respects me this much." He read honesty in her eyes and nodded. Stretching out his body, he motioned her to follow him.

They joined the group, and Harry felt almost immediately that something was off. Rising a questioning eyebrow, he waited until Ron spoke with a low voice, "The girls started to cheer at your naked torso and jabbed at 'Mione, implying that you and she…"

Harry spoke in a loud voice, "I hope no one is such an idiot to think that Hermione and I had a thing and continue to deny it. You know what, fuck you. Hermione and I were single at the time, we don't have to justify ourselves. Nothing happened, and that's the last thing I have to say about it." He wasn't allowing this crap to start its own life, and he killed the matter at its root before it had the chance to grow. He didn't forget the hell he experienced to change Ginny's perception of the issue.

Theo joined him, changing the subject, "Well done, Potter. That sword…" offering a hand.

"Weighed a bitch, believe me, and fucking blunt too. I'm glad we made it." They shook hands.

The break was short. Blaise and Lavender got picked next.

 ***Blaise and Lavender***

Blaise read, "Haunted Room, find four metal pieces with a number for the code." A glass box trapped their key inside, locked by a numeric padlock. "Haunted? Idiots."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Her scared face made him almost crack.

"Maybe except for you," taunting the witch, "Woman, let us not waste a minute." They entered a room plunged into darkness. Lavender shrieked from the locking sound of the door.

"Woman, my ears!" Blaise navigated forward, arms extended. "Fuck." He bumped his knee against a table leg. The warm breath of Lavender right on his neck, "Woman, what are you doing?"

"This place is scary as hell, Blaise."

"We don't have that much time, search elsewhere, girl."

A drawer opens and closes by itself with a loud bang.

"ARGH!"

He hissed, "Woman, my eardrums!"

"But…but…"

"Search further and shut the hell up." He rummaged on the table surface, knocking off glasses, feeling silverware under his hands but no metal squares. Moving to the right, he kept hovering, closing himself off to all the weird noises.

His companion on the contrary jumped and shrieked at every sound. "Blaise…"

"What now?" In the darkness, she couldn't see him roll his eyes.

"Blaise something touched me." She was terrified by now.

"Seduce him."

Offended, she snarled, "It's dark in here!"

He straightened his back, grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her forward, "Search for the damn squares. If something touches you, say hello." Returning to his own surface that became a display cabinet without doors, his fingers groped every space. "Thank Merlin! I have one!" Shoving the square under the waistband of his shorts he moved on to the next.

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

Thanks to a night vision camera, the group could follow their proof. Not one was unaffected by the developments, all grabbing their stomachs from laughing aloud, commenting through their laughers.

"Poor Blaise…"

"Lavender is such a chicken shit."

"I bet she'll jump on his back." Draco's comment just left his lips, or the wizard bowed in two, laughing his arse off, a first in a long time.

-oOo **Blaise/Lavender** oOo-

"AAAARRRRGGGHHHH" searching wild all over the place, Lavender found first his ass, patting her way up to his shoulders. She jumped on his back, legs circling his waist, arms around his neck.

The impact almost threw him against the cabinet, his head hitting hard on a shelf, "What the fuck?" Unhooking her hold on his neck, Blaise growled, "Woman, you are chocking me. I can't breathe, witch!" He shook her away from his body, rather brutally, "Are you fucking insane?"

"But…Blaise…I…felt…a…hand. AND IT WAS NOT YOURS!"

"Stupid witch, there's no such thing as haunted rooms. But I'll turn you into a ghost if you don't grab your wits together and start searching for those pieces. And no more patting my arse." He kept shaking her hands off his body, while Lavender tried to secure a hold on him.

"But…"

"In Salazar's name, you are testing my patience! MOVE!" _Why did McGonagall pair me with this moron? I'll end up killing her._

His hand landed on a second piece, which he put away without a sound. Blaise was on the verge of losing it altogether. Yes, he heard the wind, and yes he felt a bony hand on his shoulder. But he knew this was all a setup. After the War horrors, there wasn't much that scared him. _Voldemort's face gave me nightmares, not this poorly executed example of a haunted space._

Lavender's hand touched him lightly on the arm, "Is this one of them?"

He snarled, feeling the object on her hand, "Yes."

"Don't thank me, idiot."

He grunted, and while spinning, he found the last piece unintentionally, searching for support on a cabinet when he missed a foot, "Witch, let's get out of here. I have the last one."

They had to blink a few times from the sunlight. Blaise used the four pieces to test a few combinations before the lock opened. Snatching the key, he took off not even looking behind him, to be sure Lavender followed him. _One more word and…._

At the atrium he watched all his friends and acquaintances' faces control their features, avoiding to laugh. They saw he wasn't in the mood for jokes, while Lavender whined about his treatment, "What an arse, you have the manners of a caveman, Blaise. And here was I, willing to give you a chance to show us what a gentleman you can be."

He snapped, "Have I asked you for it?"

"You told me to seduce whatever touched me." She was still complaining, the sniggers in the background growing louder.

"You had no problem flashing your boobs at the sumo wrestler. And now you're offended because I suggested something similar? Sounds hypocrite to me."

"I did it for a purpose. You were losing." She snapped back with her chin in the air.

"I don't see a difference."

"You are an arsehole."

"And you are a moron." She let an offended huff escape her lips and turned somewhat theatrical away from the group that did nothing to hide their amusement.

Hermione smiled devilish, "Beware of the ghost, Lav-Lav." The brunette was still fuming from their previous quarrel. "Bon-Bon, shouldn't you…?"

"Granger, don't test me…"

"I'm so scared…"

A grunt intervened her pestering, it's was her turn.

 ***Draco and Hermione** *

"Mud wrestling." Draco grinned wide. Different scenarios played out in his mind, all of them very satisfying.

"Why are you grinning?" The thought of mud and her hair gave her the shivers.

"I'll enjoy watching you in a mud catfight." His eyes beamed, "I hope there's a couch and some popcorn. Or if I'm up, great. I could use a punching bag. One way or the other, it will be fun, Granger."

"Git, you're thinking with your brain down below."

"Granger, you only need to ask." He was riling her up and if felt good, "I'll give you a demonstration anytime."

His favourite scenario came to life. This was a female challenge; a busty and athletic blonde awaited Hermione inside a pin, beckoning her with a finger. He leaned against the wall, knee drew up, _this will be fun._

Hermione just thought, _shit._ Gathering her courage, she entered barefooted and braced herself. The blonde was stronger than her, and in a whim, Hermione was covered in mud from several quick attacks. It took a while before she could fight back, grounding her foot as much as possible.

She was a fantastic duellist with her wand, but hand combat was not her strongest suit. Her willpower, however, forced her to fight back, if only to show the ferret she wasn't a sissy. He cheered her bold moves but laughed her out when she took a punch.

"Granger, are you okay?" A well-placed punch made Hermione see stars. Without thinking he entered the pin, placing his hands on her face staring straight into her eyes, checking out for a sign of hidden injuries.

She shoved him brutally away, "Bad seed doesn't die easily, remember? I'm not done." Refocusing on her target with a determined look, she tackled the blonde into the ground, "AAAHH." Using every ounce of strength she possessed, Hermione forced the woman to stand down, blocking arms and legs, keeping the blond's face sideways in the mud. After a minute or two, though to Hermione it seemed hours, the wrestling woman surrendered with a hand in the air.

Puffing heavily, Hermione released the hold, feeling a key shoved into her hands, who in turn passed it on to Draco. "Let's go back." She walked with him slowly while he observed her cautiously, "Malfoy, this feels weird. You've never cared about my wellbeing, don't start now."

"You treated my arm, why can't I worry about you? You cashed in quite a few punches."

"I'm just a mudblood. Not worth to be concerned about."

His hand shot out and forced her to stop, startling her with his gesture, "One. You don't use that word again. Two. You are my partner in this endeavour, and I'll worry about you if I want. Answer me, are you hurting?"

"More pissed off for being so dirty than from any pain. I suspect a bruise on my shoulder. Now is the Slytherin prince pleased?"

"Only your shoulder?"

She admitted reluctantly, "Yes." He nodded and moved on.

At the atrium, she raised a greeting hand and headed straight ahead to her dorm.

"We knew she was a fighter, but man admit, that was hot." Blaise jumped grinning at him, just like Theo, "Yeah Draco, if that sight didn't give you a hard-on then I admire your control."

Draco snorted, rolling his eyes, "Pretty hot until she was almost knocked-out by one of the blonde's punches."

Harry heard that last bit, "Is she okay, Malfoy?"

"I think so, not that she was much forthcoming. Outside she admitted a probable bruise on her shoulder, you know your girl better than me, Potter."

"Our Hermione can take a blow, I'm not worried." Ron shrugged it off, he agreed with the Slytherin, there's nothing sexier than a good catfight in the mud.

Uruk, the goblin they finally discovered the name by interrogating Gnarluk, pointed at Neville and Theo, distracting the group.

"Pansy, do me a favour." Draco had approached the witch stealthily, "Can you go and check on Granger?"

"Are you worried about your witch? We've always known that you had a soft spot for her." Her jab was light, also feeling concerned about the Gryffindor princess.

"Oh fuck it out, Pans. Just check on her. Don't force me to ask one of those bitches over there. She might open up to you more than to me." She didn't push further, assessing his mood. Instead, she nodded and headed to the dorms.

 ***Neville and Theo***

They read together, "Swaying rock wall." Exchanging looks, they entered to understand better the explanation on the sheet, "Oh hell, this will be fun."

There was giant wedge-shaped wall leaned against the wall, and a working fan on the ceiling, Neville started immediately, "I'll climb this up to retrieve the key hanging on that fan." His first five steps went smoothly but halfway up the wall swayed, and soon Neville learned it was harder than it looked, "Shit you need to keep the balance," barking in laughter literally from pain on his arse.

"Let me try, snakes can slither…"

"Funny, Nott."

Snake or Lion, neither succeeded in climbing up the easily-looking obstacle. The boys fraternised more at every failure than they made progress, both red-faced from exhaustion and laughter. Neville dried a tear away, "Fuck, we can't even do this together to keep the balance. There's not enough support."

"Longbottom, you are smarter than you think. Let me climb first, and when there's enough distance, you jump up after. Maybe we can balance each other." Sharing a high five, Theo reached halfway up before he felt the weight from Neville grounding the wall better. "I can feel it…"

"Let me guess, in your toes."

"Smart ass."

"Slimy snake."

"No need to be rude."

"See that you don't let a fart escape."

"It's a shame I can't do in on command." Theo reached out, "Neville, can you swing a bit to the right, I almost have it."

While the Gryffindor leaned over to the right, Theo got a hold of the key, "Team Nev/Theo for the win buddy!"

-oOo **Girl's Dorm** oOo-

"Granger, are you finished?" Pansy peeked carefully through the door. A muffled "Almost," came from behind the corner.

"What's up?" Hermione entered the room, wrapped up in a bath towel, her hair swaddled in a bun.

"I wanted to check on you. That battle was quite impressive."

"You came on your own or did Malfoy send you?"

"Both."

"Go back to him, I'm fine."

"Show me your bruise, and I'll leave."

"There's no bruise."

Pansy stared at her, "Lie all you want to your buddies, you don't fool me. Show me your bruise."

"Your prince is a snitch."

The dark-haired witch chewed on a cuticle, "My prince is worried about his girl."

"I start to think someone is polyjuiced as Malfoy."

Pansy rolled eyes, "Why?"

"Since when does Malfoy give a shit about a mudblood?"

"Why can't you accept that he is trying to turn a new leaf? That he might care about you."

"And pigs fly too."

"Turn around, drop the towel enough so I can see your back and shut that mouth of yours. My patience is running out."

"Now I recognise the Parkinson tone." Hermione snapped but did as ask and heard the witch hiss, "That bad?" Turning her head back.

"It's quite big, she kicked you really bad," pressing some fingers gently on the sore looking spot, "It 's not broken I think, how much does this hurt?"

"It's tender if I'm honest."

The Slytherin witch sighed, "I'm no Healer, but I guess some ice might do the trick. Change into dry clothes, I'll hunt for some ice cubes with those grumbling goblins. Meet me in the Atrium."

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

By the time Neville and Theo entered the heart of the fortress, sporting huge grins victoriously, Pansy glanced secretly at Draco while she approached Gnarluk, "I need ice in a bag or towel."

"What for?" he barked.

"That's my business, now move!" She waved a commanding finger at the goblin while Draco approached into her sight.

"How is she?"

"There's a beautiful bruise adorning your favourite witches' shoulder blade. I'm no Healer, and we have no wands, so my guess is ice should do." It annoyed her, playing messenger and nurse, was not her favourite pastime.

"Hmm."

"You need to corner her and be honest. If you want a real shot at something more."

"Cut the crap, Pans."

"You cut the crap, Draco. Gather your balls and grab your chance. Now it's a perfect time, she can't hex you into oblivion without a wand," crossing her arms over her chest, "Do you need an official invitation?"

"I need you to back off me. I didn't hire you as my love doctor."

"You can't afford me." She inclined her head, and his answer was cut by the arrival of both goblin and Hermione. Pansy snatched the bag with a humph and headed to the brunette, "Move the hair to the other side," pressing the ice cold bag gently on the wounded shoulder.

Harry lifted Hermione's chin, "You hurt?"

"Pans here is making too much fuss about it. This is not my first rodeo."

"Sit down, 'Mione. You should rest."

"Harry, I've had worse, remember?"

"Too vividly." Giving her the example, he sat legs crossed, followed by all the others who joined in a circle. Harry pointed the finger at the floor, "Do you need help to sit down?"

Ron and Tracey rose under the grunts from Gnarluk, sending looks of solidarity, "'Mione, take care, we'll be right back."

"Toi, Toi, Toi, guys. And Harry, stop mothering me. One Pansy is enough."

He nudged her shoulder, "Don't be mad at okay? But your fight, up there? That was pretty awesome."

"Great, my arse was kicked from here to Tokyo, and you had fun. You're welcome." She broke in hearty laughter followed by all the others. "I hope the dry-cleaning service here works overtime, I'm out of clothes. Damn it, I really miss my wand."

"We all do."

 ***Ron and Tracey***

"I lose immediately if I have to fight in the mud." Tracey was panting from the long walk.

"I enjoy a good catfight. Plus I think you underestimate yourself, Tracey. Here we are, spin cycle?"

"We have to run inside a drum, to fill a tube with water. I think it will be clear it if I see it, Ron."

Inside the sunny room, a giant drum 'washing machine' waited for them to run like two hamsters. Not wasting time figuring out the specifics, they got the wheel moving and caught up. The wheel brought water and foam to a thick tube, raising the key to the top.

"We need to go faster, at this pace, we'll never make it." They fell into a synchronised pace, the tube filling fast. On the downside, the water and foam sometimes seeped through. In no time they were both soaking wet.

Ron ran a hand over his face, "Thank Merlin it's a warm day, we'll dry immediately."

Tracey had nearly breath left to answer, "I…can't…keep…up…much…longer."

"Yes, you can. I need your help, this wheel will not work if there's only one running. Tracey, push it, babe." The witch, however, fell behind. Keeping up the pace was high demanding due to its weight and size. Faster than expected, Tracey could only step instead of running; the flow of water relapsed. Ron's judgement was on the spot, "C'mon Tracey, don't abandon us." Sweat ran through his back, his face is tomato-red from exertion. "Fuck, Davies, I can't do this alone."

She headed to the tube and tried to grasp the key with her slender fingers, "Ron, just a few more turns, I can almost touch it."

"Witch, I can barely push ahead."

"Use those quads on your legs, Weasley. Push it."

The flow became a dripping stream, driving them both insane a drop at a time, "Weasley, C'mon!"

"Bitch zip it."

She went from supportive to outrage in seconds, "What did you call me?"

"If you can do a better job, take over."

"You are a moron."

He stopped any movement. "I don't care."

"What the hell are you doing? We'll lose!"

"Be my guest, the stage is all yours, bimbo."

The sound of her hand slapping his face echoed, "I'm not Pansy who knows how to bite back thoroughly, but I don't tolerate offensive words from a ginger prick who needs a girl to do his homework, wanker."

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

The snakes were fuming; you didn't need sound to understand that Ron went too far. Loyal to their own, their faces promised nothing good when the ginger wizard returned. Then they heard Hermione, "Ron is a bloody idiot. Wait until I lay my hands on him."

Theo looked at her surprised, "Need help? I got a bone to pick with the Weasel boy."

She gestured a thumb behind her, "Line forms after me. Oh, Harry, you stay out of this."

"Ron is my best friend, but I don't agree with his behaviour. I don't think Tracey is this temperamental."

"She's not." Pansy flexed her fists, Tracey was not the average type of Slytherin, more the kind and attentive heart, with zero ounces of evil in her. _To make Tracey lose her cool..._

"Pansy, I'll have his skin first," Hermione promised nothing good.

"Leave me some crumbles, sister."

The group formed a tunnel as Ron and Tracey made their walk of shame towards the jail. Except for Harry and Neville, the rest didn't hide their anger. Hermione blocked the passage, "Ron, what did you say?"

"Stay out if it, 'Mione."

"Answer her bloody question, Weasel," Theo spoke viciously.

"He name-called me, Granger, bitch and bimbo... Because I couldn't keep up. But I really couldn't, it was too hard."

"Ron, is it true?"

"She's exaggerating."

"I'm NOT!"

With her hands on her hips, Hermione warned him not to play games, "Ronald Weasley?"

"Are you defending snakes now, Hermione? Are you now close buddies with people that belittled you at every chance?" Ron was being Ron.

Hermione's finger pierced his chest at each word, "I defend whoever is mistreated. She wasn't working against you, Ronald. You don't offend someone because they are weaker than you. She deserves an apology."

"Bite my arse, 'Mione. I don't apologise to a snake. It's this bitches' fault… Fuck."

Hermione swung her hand fiercely, striking him entirely in his uninjured cheek. "You deserve to cool off in jail until you regain your senses." Holding Tracey's wrist in a vice hold, Hermione faced Gnarluk, "She stays, he goes."

"Both go." The goblin wasn't taking any orders from a rookie.

"She stays." Hermione put her body between Tracey and the goblin, ready to put up a fight if need be. All Slytherins flanked her, showing a united front together with Harry and Neville.

Ron snarled, "What a friend are you, Harry?"

"Ron, you did this to yourself. I don't agree with your attitude. Wake up first."

Gnarluk grew tired of this display and pushed Ron harshly forward, "You dungeon. Tomorrow you return for breakfast." Ron left with a hateful glare.

"I apologise for Ron's behaviour, Tracey. You did nothing to deserve such a treatment." She spoke calmly though inside she still boiled of anger.

Tracey hugged her, much to her surprise, "Thank you for saving me from a night in the dungeons."

The remaining Slytherins murmured, "Granger just climbed a notch in my book. Draco, that woman wears a pair."

"I agree with Theo, Draco. I know a few purebloods with fewer balls than her."

"Next time Weasel steps out of line, I'll teach him not to mess with a Slytherin." Draco hissed quietly, "But I agree. Granger has balls, and we knew it beforehand. See it happen, in our faces, against the ginger, is a first. One I genuinely enjoyed. Pansy, check on Granger's shoulder before you go to sleep. If you need more ice, come to our dorm, I'll arrange for it."

After dinner they headed to the dorms, exhausted from their day. Tracey rummaged in the first aid box, "Isn't arnica good for bruises?"

Hermione looked up, "I guess, but Neville is the best herbologist between us, he'll know it without a doubt." The Slytherin witch took the ointment jar and knocked on the boy's dorm door. Blaise answered and yelled after Neville, "Longbottom, a late visitor!"

Neville approached her, bare chest with his sleeping pants low on the hips, "Tracey, what can I do for you?"

The witch blushed, "I found a jar of arnica ointment and I thought that Madam Pomfrey said it was good for bruises…"

Draco peeped behind the door, "You have arnica? It is indeed great for healing bruises, right Longbottom?"

The Gryffindor wizard nodded, "Are you hurt, Tracey?"

"It's not for me, I thought it could help Hermione."

Neville bobbed his head, "Take care of my girl, please."

"I owe her one."

"No you don't, that's not my Hermione. She helps from the heart, expecting nothing in return except maybe a thank you. But I appreciate your caring gesture." He kissed her on the cheek, the witch flushing deeper.

Draco winked at her, "Thanks, Davies!"

Tracey ran back to the dorm, unused to all the male attention, "Hermione, can I rub some of this on your shoulder?"

"You don't have to, Tracey."

"Please?"

Moments later, silence fell in the dorm. Burying the events of this day, their batteries recharging for new to come. Some friendships grew stronger; others were at the baby stage.

And a specific ginger-haired wizard finally admitted behaving like a moron. Saying sorry, however, was a difficult nut to crack. _I have six hours to get used to it, damn._


	4. Day Three

**Chapter 4: Day Three.**

Reluctantly, Ron entered the breakfast room and encountered silence and watchful faces. Ignoring them all, he approached the girl he sought, "Davies."

Dark brown eyes met his green, wary, "Yes?"

He gathered his courage, repeating the memorised words, "I was out of line yesterday, please accept my apology. It was a physically very demanding proof, and I took it out on you. I shouldn't have, it was wrong," fidgeting with his fingers, "Can you forgive me?" Apologising in front of everyone was a hard nut to crack, though not doing it would be worse. Luckily, a quick glance towards Hermione revealed a soft smile on his best friend's lips, and it calmed him down. _If she's smiling, it's because I'm doing the right thing._

Tracey stared into his eyes, "How can I be sure you'll not do it again?"

"You can't, but I'll do my best not to repeat my actions." _It's the best I can offer, knowing myself._

The chair scraped the floor as she stood up to kiss him softly on his cheek, "Apologies accepted."

Relieved, he took the seat across Harry and thanked him for the served tea. His heart rate settled, soothed by Harry's approving half-smile. Last night he lied awake for the best part of it, coming up with his best 'I'm-sorry-speech'. However, Pansy caught his attention from the opposite side of the table, "Weasley, repeat your actions, and you don't have to worry about the boys. It's me you should fear, is it clear?"

"Crystal."

"Now I'm curious, Weasley, how are those cells like?"

Everyone chuckled, Ron included, "My arse and back hurt like hell. There are no mattresses, only the hard floor and a concrete bed. The bunker feels like a suite compared to it. Oh, Lavender, the room service is more of this bread with a slice of cheese. I'm not interested in an encore. "

"None of us does, Weasley." Theo joined in, "Your stay works motivational so to speak." The loaded silence disappeared and made room for chatting. Surprisingly enough the group sat today in a different order, the girls flocking together, leaving the boys to sort it out for themselves. The complaints, however, remained the same: the same dry bread, and a repeat of cold cuts and cheeses.

Hermione didn't bother asking who wanted tea, setting up the kettle on her initiative. When it began to shrill, Draco surprised her, taking over the task of fixing tea, winking at her while at it.

It confused her, especially when he asked, "How are you feeling today? Is the shoulder bothering much?"

"Hmm, no. The arnica ointment helped with the bruise, and it's only sensitive to touch." She was taken aback by his concern.

"I will take over as much as possible from our challenge; give you some time off. We don't know if there will be a new high demanding task for you, and we need to spare your strength."

This statement met with several nods in agreement, Harry thanking Draco openly for his cooperation, "Thanks Malfoy. Ron and I appreciate your concern."

"Yep." Ron's mouth was too full for a longer thank you.

Unlike yesterday, the goblin's remained absent, and an hour later the group moved from the room to the Atrium to enjoy the sunny day while waiting. Lavender and Tracey got tired of standing up and sought a comfortable place to lie down and sunbathe relaxed. Leaning with their eyes closed against the stones, they all moaned relaxed.

"Girls, I'm taking off my tank top. My belly's skin could use some tanning." Pansy kick-started the action using the top as her pillow, which was copied by all the other witches, none of them concerned about revealing too much, thanks to a decent sports bra which covered the essential.

The boys let their sight feast on the appealing sight. All the witches formed the proverbial cold drink of water for the road-weary eyes. Blaise murmured very low to Draco and Theo, "Salazar's tits; who knew the swot hid a body like that under her robes?" nudging Draco visibly.

The blond wizard sighed, "I know. I've noticed it already two days ago."

"What? And you didn't share the news?" Theo was baffled and saw Draco shrug in return, so he added, "Draco, those legs are made to circle a man's waist, thank Merlin." They noticed only then the flushed face of Neville, "Look to your left, mate. Our Longbottom is enjoying the view too…I'll be damned, he's eyeing our Tracey."

"Yo, boys, why don't you be a gentleman and give our female eyes a good view?" Pansy knew her fellow Slytherins as the palm of her hand, eavesdropping on their conversation. The comment about Tracey amused her; _Longbottom is a good bloke, perfect for my girl._

The boys chose a comfortable setting, close to their counterparts. Theo smiled at Hermione, "Hey, Granger, don't you think I was right about this castle? It is the perfect setting for the Greyjoy's prison." In the meantime, he paid real attention to their surroundings. The worn out walls shown the consequences of exposure to sun and sea salt, the rusty handrails between the arches, the granite stone staircases leading to corridors. In one of the arcs serving as the main entrance, Theo could discern an engraving, dating 1857.

"Hmm…"

He got excited, "Granger, there's such a military vibe in here, as if was created to defend. We could role-play some scenes from the book?"

Hermione frowned, "Here? Nah, we have no props, nor the wands to make them. What good is enacting a battle without swords and cannons?"

"We have a dragon," Neville smirked at Theo's remark.

Hermione snorted, "Draco, can you fly and spit fire?"

"No, but I can torture a certain wizard if he keeps up with the dragon jokes. Eat his candy when we return to Hogwarts."

"No need to be rude, Malfoy. That's not nice."

Pansy intervened, "Please share the fun with the ignorant among us, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Have you read the book 'A Song of Fire and Ice'?"

"I only read Witch Weekly," Her three Slytherin wizards smirked simultaneously, "Don't give me the look, it's important to keep up with the newest gossip and fashion news. Granger, tell me more!" Her eyes remained closed when she waved her hand.

"It's a series of books about a dynasty war between clans, in this fictitious country called Westeros, who also fear the wildlings and the undead behind a huge ice wall on the north…"

Theo joined in, "Then you have Essos, where a drop-dead gorgeous Daenerys Targaryen lives, married off to this barbarian called Drogo. She hatched three dragon eggs under her husband's funeral pyre."

"Ugh, so gross." Tracey scrunched her face disgusted.

"Cool." Ron reacted enthusiastically; dragons were his favourite stories, "Which kind of dragon's?"

"Man, I don't know it by heart, Weasley. Only that they are three big badasses, Viserion, Rhaegal and Drogon. But what your lovely princess is omitting: the books are full of sex and nudity." He was figuratively jumping up and down, eager to deliver this last detail.

"WHAT?" Pansy couldn't look more feign shocked, pushing her body up to her elbows, "The prude Gryffindor princess reads erotic novels?"

The two other female voices exclaimed, "Ooh!"

Hermione struck back, deadpanned, "You consider it a sin? I bet your reading list is more extensive than mine." She had read the few she encountered in the restricted area and the ones she occasionally bought during their trips to Hogsmeade. Harry caught her reading one once, snatching the book out of her hands and teased her but she had acquired his silence by borrowing him some volumes.

"I didn't expect you to read them, Hermione," Pansy thought _I'm starting to like this witch more very minute. Damn, have I misjudged her..._ Glancing over to the wizards she noticed several expressions, Harry was in the know, clear from his half-smile, Ron looked somewhat annoyed, _didn't he know about her reading taste? Or was he cross because he wants to read them?_ Neville had a blush of embarrassment, _now that's adorable to watch_. Blaise's features mirrored hers, surprise and joy struggling for the first place. However, Draco looked in disbelief, _Hermione is a witch of many layers, and her boy just started to peel one at the time. If it's up to me, these two will end up together, and I'm sure Hermione will have picked up some inspiration to re-enact._

"I tell you what, Pansy, I'll lend you some of mine, and you some of yours?" Hermione switched position, lying now on her belly, chin on her crossed arms. She looked smug at Pansy, "You never know, my knowledge might need some freshening up." _No way she backed down to a Slytherin witch._

Theo followed Draco's line of sight and grinned, Hermione's shift gave his friend an interesting perspective on her cleavage. He could almost see the blond drool. He elbowed the man in his ribs to taunt him, receiving a snarl in return, "Mate, I think blood is about to come out of your eyeballs if you don't stop staring."

"I'm not staring." Draco seethed through his teeth.

"Hermione, don't you think Draco is the ideal version of Jon Snow? The blond haired version, of course."

"Huh?"

"I even suggest Pansy be…"

"The perfect Cersei Lannister." Hermione grinned wide.

"Theo, I see our Hermione as the Queen of Andals, the Rhoynar and The First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea-." Neville recited by heart the long title belonging to Daenerys, and got interrupted by the Slytherin wizard, who completed, "Mother of Dragons, the Unburnt, Breaker of Chains and Lady of Dragonstone."

"Salazar's tits, men, that's a mouth full." Blaise enjoyed the interaction, "Who could I be?"

Hermione leaned a finger against her lips, "Let me think…"

"He's our version of Jaime Lannister." Theo glanced devilish at his friend.

Not trusting his mates' look for a second, he interrogated Neville who grinned in the know, "Longbottom, spill it, buddy, what's the catch?"

"Nothing to worry about, Blaise, Jaime is known as the King Slayer." Hermione was gleefully chuckling at Neville's explanation, watching Blaise inflate with pride at such title, "He's the father of three children…" He beamed at the brunette, "he has with his sister."

Blaise's pride changed into sheer horror in a heartbeat, "What? Me and Pansy involved in an incest story?"

"Let me tell you, Cersei is an evil bitch to the core, but a sexy one. No pun intended, Pansy, you know I love you, sister, but you can be a devil when crossed." Theo had to rub it in.

"None taken, dear Theodore. When the moment demands it, there's nothing wrong with being bad." She was used to her friends bantering, "I'm sexy in this story of yours?"

"Drop-dead gorgeous and evil to the bone. More vicious than a python."

"She's perfection! She's mine, I'm her alright!"

Lavender inserted herself into the conversation, "Are we having a day off? No goblins in sight."

Blaise snarled, "Stop being a buzz killer. Hermione, who do you think your Lav here could be?"

Theo and Hermione answered together, "Ros."

Lavender smiled wide, "Who is she for a girl? Gorgeous too?"

"Absolutely, she's gorgeous, busty and a lady of pleasure." Everyone except Lavender herself caught the hint at that last one. Pansy rolled her eyes at so much ignorance, following Hermione's character description. The blond witch was clapping on her hands of joy, "Lady of pleasure…oh my, I love to give pleasure." They all broke into laughter, "Why are you laughing with, it's true you know…"

Blaise nodded, doing nothing to hide his laughter, "Yes, we know, Lav, and so does the sumo wrestler."

"I don't see the problem."

"Neither do we." Hermione dried some tears, exchanging glares with Neville and Theo, the image of Ros satisfying Tyrell passing in her mind, "Little Finger will love you."

"Little Finger?" Lavender was now completely lost.

Neville jerked his chin, "Hermione, who could be Little Finger?"

"Flinch, who else?"

Theo was red now from laughing his arse off, "Little Finger running a brothel? Oh balls, this is good." He fist-bumped Neville, "Don't you think, Longbottom?"

"Wait for a second, a brothel?" Lavender looked clueless.

Hermione couldn't look smugger, "Yes, Lav. Little Finger is a nasty sob and owns a brothel."

"But he loves me." The blond witch tried to connect the dots, looking around her but remaining completely oblivious to the fun floating in the air. "If this guy has a brothel, he's wealthy. There's nothing wrong with it, and he cares for me."

"He owns you. You work for him." Draco could swear he never saw Hermione this vicious before; clearly, the history between the two witches and the Weasel wasn't digested yet. _Granger should have been a Slytherin, in Salazar's name._ His thought was apparently the same of all the other snake-fellows, as they crossed knowing looks, _this girl gives Slytherin a whole new meaning. Sly, has a taste for payback when wronged, and owns more courage than the average wizard._

Ron was slightly uncomfortable but refrained from comments, he didn't need a new loss-of-temper-episode from Hermione. He was back on her right side and wanted to keep it this way, particularly for his own sake. Plus he tried to forget that he ever dated this not-so-smart witch; cringing of embarrassment at every new remark.

"Work? As for what? His secretary?"

The honey-sweet tone coming from Hermione surprised the Slytherins the most, even Neville side-eyed the witch, "Lav, my dear, yes sweetie, as a lady of pleasure I guess you can book appointments and accept payment by the hour…"

Lavender swung her blond hair behind her shoulders, "Whatever, this Little Finger loves me. Your character hatches dragons under a funeral pyre." Concluding her character stood above this Daenerys-girl.

"Oh, this is getting too much to handle." Theo hesitated if he shouldn't explain better to the toddler among them, but refrained from it, to ridicule the girl was so much more fun, "Lavender when we are back at Hogwarts, ask McGonagall what a lady of pleasure is. Ask her if you can demonstrate your fellow students…"

"I might do that, Theo, thank you for the advice..." Blaise was grabbing his belly from laughing so hard, picturing how the headmistress would react. He could see Draco's shoulders tremble, while the wizard hid his face in the circle of his arms, who asked for more background information the moment he got his wits together, "Granger, who's Jon Snow?"

"Malfoy, he's a bastard son of Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, and he was shipped off to the Northern Wall to protect the realm from wildlings. Can you handle his illegitimate origin?" Hermione was far from done, poking her nemesis. "He was sentenced to a life between men, forced to swore celibacy until the day he died. Hey Theo, you can re-enact this in your dorms!"

"Which part? Watching over the wall?"

"I meant the celibacy part, swear off any carnal activities." She didn't imagine having this much fun.

Blaise wasn't accepting any of it, "Granger, in case you've missed, _we_ are not engaging in any of those activities, much to our regret. You can change this at any point if you wish."

"Are you..." She rose and walked up seductively to Blaise, squatting on one knee, "Suggesting we merge within our sleeping arrangements and let us say…engage…" she ran a finger over his knee, staring straight into his eyes, "in carnal activities." Blaise swallowed visibly.

"Granger, it's getting hot in here, witch." Pansy gave her a lopsided smile, "I can see the steam come out of their ears, no exceptions." She fanned herself to add some drama, "I never knew you had it in you, you belong in the Slytherin house."

Hermione gazed at her before she let her eyes roam over every wizard; Harry shook his head at her out-of-character behaviour. Blaise hadn't answered yet, "Zabini, cat got your tongue?"

He blinked a few times, "Huh?"

Tracey smirked, "Hermione, I believe you made his brain short-cut. Give him a minute. I wonder which character could I be?"

"I don't know Tracey, describe yourself in a few words."

"Oh… I don't know…" looking nervously at Pansy. "I can be cunning…"

"Granger, she is the sweetest snake among us. This girl will pick up a spider to release it into the wide world instead of using a roll of parchment to squash it, as I do. If you, however, hurt one of hers, she'll come down on you faster than lightning."

"I have ambition, but I don't want to trample others to do it. I often thought I'm a cross between the snakes and the badgers." She watched the faces of her housemates closely, fearing for a snide remark, but much to her surprise, Draco smiled at her.

"Davies, you are a snake. Let no one else tell you differently, witch." He looked stern, to erase any doubt in her head; counting on his fingers, "Cunning, ambitious and resourceful. You are all those, and yes, you are gentle and loyal, but I don't see the problem. Us, Slytherins, we could use some more kindness in our bones."

A growl came from behind the group, "Time for lunch, then challenges."

Ron got up to follow and saluted. Hermione pulled her tank top on while walking, deep in thoughts from Draco's words and more, in particular, his tone. It sounded sincere, no trace of mock or disdain. They changed glances, and she smiled.

He looked away, self-conscious of her attention. Receiving a friendly smile from Hermione was something he wasn't used to yet. He claimed the seat next to hers, but eyed his plate distrustful, scratching his hair, "Does someone recognise this?"

Neville lifted some food with his fork, "Looks like an omelette in a crust."

Gnarluk snarled, "Eat, it's quiche Lorraine," and left the room adding, "you have thirty minutes."

Blaise scrunched his nose, "Kish Lorene?"

"It's food, and it tastes better than it looks," Ron spoke with his mouth full, in his Ron-kind of way.

"I taste eggs, pie crust, bacon and maybe onion. I agree with Ron, it looks awful, but the flavour is decent." Hermione pondered for a second, after dishing up some of her meal.

Taking her cue, Draco took a bit, cocked his head and nodded, "Granger, about that story of ice, can you tell us more?"

"I've only read two books; the third is about to come out. It happens in Medieval England they call Westeros, and you could say the Esos is in France. This lord of Winterfell is a kind ruler, with consideration for his people who in return are very loyal to him. King Baratheon, who's murdered by poison, rules the country and his death starts the typical fight for the iron throne. On the contrary of what Theo made you think, I read the saga, not for the sex but for the intrigues, the historical element, the betrayals. When I end on the last page, I can't wait for the next instalment."

Neville nodded, "The nude parts are often too much, unnecessary. But I agree with Hermione, it's writing is very compelling."

"I'll grab a copy from Flourish when we're back."

"They might not sell it, Draco, it's Muggle literature. You'll find it at Waterstones." She spoke between two bites.

He shrugged it off, "Then a trip to Muggle London it will be before starting Hogwarts, I'm curious." She called him by his first name, and it disturbed him slightly. Made him want to hear it more.

Meanwhile, Neville propped a grape in his mouth, "I wonder what is waiting for us."

"As longs as it's nothing with spiders or other vermin…" Ron rested his chin on his folded hands, elbows on the table.

Pansy patted him on his hair, "Come, come, come, I'm sure Tracey will save you, cry-baby. How much harm can a little spider do?"

"Speaks the woman who never met Aragog," he dismissed her, hiding the blush behind a sip from his glass of soda. He heard a familiar smirk, "Harry, you weren't so kin on Hagrid's big friend either."

"You were panicky afraid."

"Have you forgot that his 'children' chased us? They were hundreds of them." He shivered at the memory of the giant spider and its offspring.

Hermione laughed aloud, "Oh Ron, after all these years? Your car saved you."

Theo beamed, "You got to tell us that story-"

Gnarluk interrupted, "Time is up, you and you, come," his finger pointed to Blaise and Lavender. The rest followed to the Atrium, choosing a comfortable place to sit. Draco simply remarked, "Hopefully, Blaise will not come out deaf from this one."

 ***Blaise and Lavender** *

"The giant fan," Lavender read it to Blaise, "Oh, my hair will be like Hermione's, a mess."

"Finally, you'll have something in common with the witch." Blaise side-eyed his companion, but entered the room, not waiting for an answer. Upon the locking of the door, a giant fan ventilated the room, sending into the air the rope holding the key. The wind it created was so strong, it nearly pushed the wizard to the other side of the room, "Shit, how will we retrieve a flying key without a broom?"

He surveyed the room for a staircase or a chair to stand on and found only a Perspex cover. In the meantime, Lavender was fighting a battle against her hair, "Blaise, do something. I can't see."

"Wait, let me think woman." It took him a few moments to discern he needed to use the cover to close the entrance of the fan. The lid, however, weighed quite a few pounds, "Lavender you'll have to help me. I can't do this alone."

"Blaise…"

"Brown, help me and keep your snatter shut."

"All right, caveman." She grabbed one of the handles, copying the moves of the wizard and raised it with all her might, "My nails are going to break."

He snarled incomprehensible words at her of pure frustration, shovelling a foot at a time. He carried three-quarter of the whole weight, ultimately, feeling a trail of sweat run down his spine. It seemed to take forever to reach the entrance, and he flexed all his muscles to lift the cover to its place, "Are you helping at all?"

"This is too heavy for me; I'll strain a muscle."

"Fuck woman, can't you for once do something for someone else?" He grunted low when he almost lost his grip. She decided to cooperate under massive protest, and together the lid was placed. Instantly, the wind stopped, and the rope subsided. The wizard snatched it and escaped the room, falling on his knees from exhaustion.

"Are you okay Zabini?"

"Shut up."

"That's what you get when you try to be nice." She lifted her chin to the other side and missed utterly the murderous look Blaise sent her way, fists clenched.

To their surprised, the next couple surpassed them. Draco laid a hand on his mate's shoulder, "Okay Zabini?"

"Been better." The wizard answered between the massive intakes of breath.

Hermione gestured the goblin to wait, and handed Blaise a bottle of water, "It's a new one, take it."

"Thanks, Granger," the wizard flashed the girl a thankful look.

"You're welcome." She touched Draco's arm, "Uruk here has zero patience, and we need to go. Take it easy Blaise. You have time." She took off, followed by the blond.

 ***Draco and Hermione***

They read a page and looked confused at each other, none of them wiser about the challenge. Draco motioned his head to enter the room, and once inside, their confusion didn't diminish, "What the hell is this?" his eyebrows disappearing under his fringe.

Hermione spotted the lever; "I believe we need to pull up the key, using this." Moving from words to actions, she pulled up a red-caped iron handle, raising the key higher inside its metal shaft, but not high enough for them to grasp it. However, when she reversed her move, the key lowered again, much to her chagrin, "Balls, why can't things be easy the first time?" She peeked through the metal partition bars that divided the cell in to and saw a similar switch. Hermione could insert an arm through, but her limb was not long enough to reach her goal.

Looking around, she discovered at the same time as Draco, a padded door rocker, "Granger, I go through the door and push up the lever from that side." Taking some steps back he leapt and moved through, "Fuck," the rocking movement of the door turned harsher than expected. Holding his side of the handle, he repeated her move, and the key rose in height, while Hermione's handle returned to its starting position. Combining their movements, one pushed up his lever and then waited for the other to replicate the action so they could start over. At first, Draco and Hermione were silent, synchronising their movements with an exchange of looks and nods, but soon the rusty levers demanded more arm power, and her strength began to diminish. He encouraged her, "C'mon Granger, that's it…neat," though he grunted when it was his turn to push. Once or twice she had to wake him out of his daydream, as he focused more on her face than on his shift to press up.

After some twentyish turns, both out of breath and sweaty from exertion, the key raised enough for Hermione to grab it. She dangled it with a tired smile, "We have it! Come over to the other side!"

"No way, I remain a Slytherin." He wiped the sweat from his forehead, flashing his trademark smirk.

"Ferret, there's no room for a snake inside Gryffindor. I-"

"Relax, witch. I know what you meant." Breathing deep, he pushed with his shoulder door to Hermione's side, but the rocker didn't budge. Draco retreated four steps back, shoving at the door with more effort, alas without success. "Fuck this door; I want out."

"Take a bigger leap, Draco," she was tired and thirsty, watching him from almost behind the door. He flashed an annoyed look, retreated until his back hit the wall behind, and used all the power he had left to push hard, this time flying over, onto Hermione. His speed forced her with him until she was the one against the wall.

"Phew." He sighed, recovering from the little flight, letting his forehead rest on her shoulder for a short moment.

"Ooh." She blinked, catching up with the blurry events. Looking down, she noticed his hands, "Would you please remove your paws?"

"I don't have paws," Draco retorted first before he followed her gaze, "Oops, sorry." Both hands were on her breasts, encasing the two mounds inside his large hands, almost squeezing. Draco's face turned into a shade of red; a tone she never saw on his features before. It looked adorable despite the circumstances, hindering her efforts to maintain the irked look on her face.

He grasped his throat loudly, taking his hands away and shoving them deep in his pockets, while he lead her out the door. They remained for a few minutes outside their cell's door, embarrassed. Uruk eyed one another and took off impatiently, muttering something inaudible. Draco was about to break the silence, but she spun around and followed the goblin without a word while glancing back to see if he trailed behind.

She ran absently minded behind the creature, convincing herself that Draco's hands on her breasts didn't affect her. _This is nothing; it was nothing, Hermione. Just a miscalculation, he didn't mean to grope at you. Why am I even bothered? I mean, nothing is going on between us. I don't want to pursue a relationship, have no interest in the git. Also if said git looked damn fine in his sports attire, his abs strong and chiselled pressed against me. His sweaty pectorals, flexed at every push, what a sight. The collar of his tank and its delicious sneak peek. No, Granger, nothing is going on. Nothing! He does look yummy…But I don't need a repeat session, no I don't._ She sighed, _in Godric's name, who am I fooling?_

Draco kept a certain distance for several reasons: one, his dick was half hard-on, and he hoped to get rid of it by the time they arrived at the Atrium. Two, the sight of her arse in those tight shorts was terrific, one he would never grow bored of. _If you want your dick to flatten Malfoy, stop! Maybe next time, when you fly into her, aim for those firm globes? Fuck, this is not helping._

Draco slowed his pace to a walking speed, riled up with his physical condition that remained too visible to his taste. Feigning a last minute visit to the loo, he hoped to buy himself some calm down time, although the vision of his big hands on her bosom kept running in a loop inside his head. _Her tits were a perfect fit for his hands. Soft and full…and her nipples…two taut buttons._ Cursing the path of his mind, he had only one option left.

The men's loo was empty as he'd hoped and he confined himself inside a cubicle, leaned against the locked door and fisted his freed rock-hard cock in search of relief. The inspiration to achieve his goal, reigned free in his mind, in the shape of long-time fantasies. Only Godric knew how long he fantasised of her soft, full breasts, her tight nipples, he always pinched in his dreams but today tangible against his palms. How her legs wrapped around his waist while he pounded, her moans, the shape of her arse. He was so worked up that the familiar coil in his belly burned fierily hot after a few pumps. He came so intensely with a loud grunt; that it was a miracle, he retained the clarity of spirit and diverted his spurts away from his clothing. Aware he couldn't scourgify the place, unfortunately.

His breath finally returned to normal. Cursing the absence of his wand again, he cleaned his mess with some toilet paper and washed his hands while staring at the face in the mirror. He smiled with a huff at his satisfied features. Confident to assume that this was the first of several wank sessions to follow, until the future gave him a more precise insight. There was sexual tension between them, and he would pursue whatever this was, if given a chance. Time would tell. For now, this cubicle served fine.

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

Hermione joined the group breathless, and a quick glance confirmed her fears: they've all seen where Draco's hands landed. Choosing to stand her ground, she shrugged and flashed a half-looped smile at Pansy, who grinned at her in return, just as Harry and Blaise did. Theo coughed "Hot," while Ron looked away, wishing he were somewhere else.

Lavender was still pouting in a corner away from the group, but Tracey patted on the ground next to her, "Share it all with aunty Tracey, sweetie, what did the big bad blond do?"

Gnarluk motioned to Neville and Theo, breaking the buzz. Both wizards left with huge smiles, not necessarily because of the same witch…

 ***Neville and Theo***

"Longbottom, you have an eye for my Tracey." The second they were alone except for the goblin, Theo launched, satisfied to see his partner's face flush.

"You two have a thing?" Neville was nervous now.

"No, relax Neville. I meant my Tracey because she's ours, from our snake group. We, the Slytherin wizards, we watch over our witches." They trailed behind the goblin, who took them deep into the dungeons this time, "Bah, Longbottom, it smells foul around here."

"Not enough fresh air around these premises. We should be faster than usual, Theo." A quick glance at the explanation told them they had to move over cylinders to get to the key. Inside the room, a series of variously sized barrels painted as candy had to be crossed before reaching to the key, the floor covered with foam mats, "Looks fun, I'll go first." Neville didn't wait for an answer, climbing on a small platform before starting. His first three barrels went surprisingly well and certain of himself, he speeded up and fell almost immediately from a medium sized one, the wizards laughter echoing in the room, "Theo, not too fast, learn from my mistake, buddy."

They took turns into climbing on the barrels and understanding that going slow wasn't either the recipe for success. Several 'Ooh's', 'Shit', and 'Fuck's' later, they both were red of heat and sweat, not getting beyond halfway. They clapped on each other's shoulder between their laughs as if they were long-time mates on a night off, and Theo remarked, "Longbottom, there's not much time left."

Instead of waiting for each other's turn, they took off almost together, wobbling while laughing. One wizard arm shot out, pulling the other up at the umpteenth attempt, receiving in return a chuckled "Thanks." None of the two could retell how they succeeded in reaching the other side. What they did know, was that they barely escaped a night at the dungeons, with a few grains of sand left on the hourglass, and cheeks that hurt from so much laughter.

-oOo **Atrium** oOo-

Draco hoped to join the group stealthily but saw his plans be thwarted by two pairs of female eyes waiting for his arrival. One brown pair stared at him, nervously and uncertain about how to move on from their little episode. The other was itching to roast him about his feelings. Almost even guessing what he just did, if she read his features right, recognising the after-bliss on his face.

He chose to join Potter and Blaise, ignoring the stares. Unfortunately, his fellow snake was out for some taunting, "Nice catch there, I guess your hands never landed so softly."

"Zabini, drop it." Draco barely avoided rolling his eyes, _he could have guessed._

"Potter, don't you agree? I mean every lad would love to land with his paws on a woman's tits." Blaise looked wickedly at the Gryffindor who smiled, surprisingly enough, with the same posture.

Harry drew a breath teasingly, "Yeah, only, we are talking about a fierce Gryffindor witch who knows a few nasty hexes. I guess you should feel lucky, Malfoy, that she hadn't her wand within reach."

Blaise nudged him, "Potter, just between us, and you have my word I won't spread the gossip. Have you ever sampled the goodies?"

"Zabini, for the last time, and believe me when I say I don't need a wand to fight. I respect Hermione, nothing happened and it never will. Speak of this one more time, Zabini, and I don't speak for the consequences. Now, Malfoy, you should feel lucky your crown jewels are intact. Consider yourself a warned man. The witch is a fantastic duellist with her wand but a fearless fighter without it too. Don't underestimate her." He glanced at the girls to make sure they couldn't hear his next words, "If she chooses to pursue something with you, I'm not interfering. All I want for her is a bloke that loves her like she should be loved. Otherwise, I strongly advise you to find another fuck buddy to play with."

"See if I get this right, you are okay if we would get romantically involved." Harry nodded at Draco's assessment, "But if it's just to scratch an itch-"

"I recommend you to find someone else." Harry rephrased his warning. "You got it correct. Have you made up your mind?"

"Are you asking me if I see her as a fuck buddy or as wife material?"

"Exactly."

Draco rubbed a hand over his neck, glancing again at the witch in question, noticing Pansy's attention, "Your 'sister' is a beautiful female specimen. The most intelligent witch of our year and allow me to say, of our entire school including the teachers. I am a former Death Eater who received a new chance at life thanks to you _and_ her. People look down on me, and many think I undeservedly escaped prison. I don't deserve her, and I would be a burden in her life."

Green eyes stared deep into greys, pondering on his next words, "Malfoy, one: you were a kid forced to be an adult. We've been through this in the bunker, no need to repeat. Two, what my sister wants and what the world thinks are two very different issues. She'll never make up her mind based on what people think is good. A year ago, yes, you didn't deserve her, and she would hex you into oblivion. When we started this three days ago, she could almost drink your blood. She expected your worse, and you have given us your best. I say you have a new chance. Don't mess it up." Harry clapped on the blonds' shoulder and went to stand next to a silent Ron. Reading the mind of his best friend, he whispered, "Are you okay, mate?"

"I'm trying to stay invisible, so nobody uses me as their next shooting target. One day of wrath is well enough, thank you. Now, I saw you talk all serious with the git, what's that all about?"

"Just telling him, he should feel lucky a certain knee didn't crush his balls." Harry sparkled, "If he repeats his move…"

"She'll deal with him; he tested her right hook already in the third year." Both chuckled, "But what if?"

"If what? If Hermione dates the ferret?"

"Hmm, yeah," Ron wrinkled his nose, "I don't know…"

"He'll have to grovel deep before she even considers him as a partner. I would love to see that happen," rubbing his chin, "You and I will stay on the sideline, watch it develop. If needed we'll intervene. Otherwise, we'll do as she wants. It's her life, and I trust her judgement."

"He's the ferret-"

Ron was about to speak further but got interrupted by the voice of Pansy, "He's a very loyal friend who made the wrong decisions based on the lies of adults. If she can see behind his self-protection armour, she'll have a fierce companion. One who will push her into achieving her goals and will be there to catch her, if she fails." The Slytherin gave Ron a once-over, "Sounds familiar? Are you made of the same kind of wood?"

"I don't need a self-protection armour," Ron huffed.

"No, you need some brains that learn to think before you speak."

She snarled before walking away, leaving Ron with an open mouth, "What was that about, Harry?"

Hesitation dawned on Harry's face, "If I didn't know better, it sounded like she's pushing your buttons on purpose."

"What would she do that for?" he sounded disbelieving.

"Why does a girl push the boys' buttons, Ron? Use your brain for once." Harry looked incredulous, shaking his head. _If Ron didn't see it, who was he to force him in to watch? Ron and Pansy? Hell, why not? She'll give him a run for his money; keep him on the top of his toes. This week is full of surprises._

"Hey, Potter, it's our turn!"

Harry followed, _speaking of the devil…_

 ***Harry and Pansy***

"Solve the sums to move through the maze, but use this code to enter and exit the maze," Harry read the sheet, "990". Pansy nodded, "Let's go, Potter."

They enter the room divided into partitions, each passage door closed with a numerical lock. They turned on a vault-like disc-mechanism to open the first door, "9-9-0". Pansy whisked Harry's hand and dragged him behind her, to the first note showing a sum, "40 times 10, is this first-grade shite?" scrunching up her face. Harry configured the lock on 400 instead of answering, crouched to fit through the door and hauled her along.

The next read, "Add 10 to 26," and Pansy snorted, "Really, is this the best these guys can come up with?"

"Woman, are you going to complain the whole time? It's a piece of cake, feel happy you don't have to grovel through the mud. There, 36 is the answer…"

"But this damn thing demands three digits…"

Harry stared at her in disbelief, "Really? You don't see it?"

"How do you turn a two-digit number into three?"

"Holly shites …that's a major problem…oops…what do we do? And Hermione isn't here to help…" Harry mocked her while setting up the correct combination, "Oh my, look! Parkinson, you can add a zero!"

She waved him off, "I was testing your capabilities."

"Yeah, right." He slammed the palm of his hand against his forehead. "Next, 39 plus 79 plus 49."

"This is giving me a headache." Her fingers scratched the top of her head, "I miss some parchment."

"Pansy, are you serious? How did you pass through calculus? Or did you copy Draco's answers the whole time?"

"This isn't some potion I have to make so I can wax my legs."

"Huh? Never mind, configure that thing to 157." She stared at him, appalled, "What Parkinson, never calculated mentally? Sum forty with eighty add fifty and subtract then three. Simple!" He shook his head, "Three down, one-two-three-…-seven to go. Put that brain to work, witch."

The next door showed two to the sixth, Pansy yelled, "Twelve!"

He snarled, "Sixty-four."

"I'm positively sure that it's twelve, scarhead."

"Then, be my guest and try yours, silver princess." He bit.

"Hmm…three digits…oh, yes, add a zero before." Pansy turned the wheels to form her answer, peeved for not figuring out straight away. Snarling inaudible words, she created Harry's solution, cursing even louder when it turned out correct.

From then on, she waited until he calculated and inserted Harry's solution, which was until the very last door, the correct one.

One doorway separated them from the exit door, and it turned to be the longest equation:

70 X 30 / 2 – 1/3 of 45 – 45 =

"Potter, my respect if you can solve this within a half minute."

"If you keep your mouth shut, I might." He murmured, "Ok, we should first do seventy times thirty divided by two…two thousand hundred divided by two is one thousand and fifty; a third of forty five-."

"I know that one! It's fifteen!" Her grin turned into a pout, watching Harry roll his eyes, and she stuck her tongue out.

"Jeez. That's an adult attitude you're showing..."

"Potter, my darling, it's almost time…"

"Parkinson, shhh, thousand fifty less fifteen is thousand thirty-five, less forty-five is nine hundred ninety…"

Pansy configured the number and approached their last door. "Potter, which one now?"

"Where's the hint?" They looked everywhere, but there was no note to be found, "Parkinson, search for the damn…"

"I can't find it!" They had barely seconds left to escape, "Scarhead, think, didn't we have to use a code to…"

"Enter and…Exit, shit that's it, which code did we use?"

"The hell that I know, Potter. With all your numerology and shitty calculations. I don't know…"

"What was the number…shit…fuck, it was something with a nine…" As he looks back at their last lock, his penny has dropped, and he's about to insert their exit code. However, a loud thud of a door being sealed echoes through the room. "Bloody hell…"

"This is all your fault, you moron! Now I have to spend the night sleeping on the floor!"

"Bitch if your brain worked, we wouldn't have lost time arguing about the solutions. And why didn't you memorised the exit code?" He was furious with her and her antics, out of ten equations she guessed only two, who made him wonder how she got past anything that involved math.

"Why didn't you, the mighty boy-who-lived?"

"Because someone had to do all the work? Because you only care about calculating beauty potions? Because-"

From outside their room, a deep baritone spoke, "You failed…"

Pansy snarled, "We KNOW!"

Unaffected the goblin continued, "You will spend the night in the dungeon."

"Arsehole." Pansy dried some escaping tears. Harry was still huffing, angry with himself for not paying more attention to the sheet outside. The door opened, and Uruk motioned them to follow. This time there was no walk of shame waiting for them but only concerned faces.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione laid a hand gently against his cheek, "I'll come later with some blanket and such. But calm down, not everyone is as fast as you when it comes to math."

Next to her, Draco was embracing Pansy, "Hey gorgeous, calm your nerves. You didn't do this on purpose, and if Snotter is blaming you for something, we'll deal with it, Slytherin-wise."

"Draco, I was never strong in calculus or…"

"I know, we know. Don't worry. We'll stop by later." He kept stroking her hair, offering her comfort with a soft smile, "Cool down, witch. It will all be alright." He barely released her or Hermione took his spot, her hand on the other witches' arm, "Harry is a hot-head, but he knows you didn't want to fail. He'll cool down in a minute and return to his normal self, instead of this troll-version you see." Hermione squeezed Pansy's arm softly, "I'll come later. I promise."

Uruk decided the show took long enough and shoved the pair forward, to the dungeons, "Hey, moron, be gentle!" Hermione yelled at the goblin by the lack of gentleness.

Gnarluk barked, "Final pair, come!"

Tracey looked at Ron, "I love Pansy, but I don't want to spend the night there."

The ginger head shook his head, "We won't." He offered his hand and took off with her right behind him, praying to Merlin for an easy challenge and strength to keep his rage in check.

 ***Ron and Tracey** *

"Memory game. Thank Merlin for this easy one." Tracey opened the door, relieved with the manageable level, and yelped from surprise.

A grey-haired man watched her unmoving, creeping the hell out of the witch and even the wizard, who waved a hand in front of the man's face, "Anybody home?" The man remained unfazed. Ron sniggered and took place in one of the two chairs, pulling the other one for Tracey. "Come, witch, help me remember," patting on the seat, "I have a shorter memory span than a goldfish according to Hermione." Tracey giggled.

Without introduction, the man turned a series of cards showing six different pairs of figures, which he revealed one last time before raising four fingers and then six. Tracey wanted confirmation, "We have to guess four pairs? And six chances?" A grunted nod followed, "Okay, then turn this one and this one."

The man followed her commands, and she clapped on her hands, happy to have the first guess correct. Tracey exchanged a look with Ron who motioned her to go on, "I paid no attention, I'm sorry." She scrutinised her face but refrained from comment. Luckily for him, she had a photographic memory, and they were down to the last pair to guess and still had their two extra shots left.

"Oh, bollocks, one miss." She bit her lip, doubting her next move.

"Davies, don't hesitate, you can do it."

"Ron, what if I…"

"Then we will spend the night with your Pansy and my Harry. Worse things happen in life, you know. Now trust your instincts, I believe in you…"

She blinked, "Wow, Weasley, I didn't know you could be so sweet…" giggling more when he turned beet red. Glancing at him sideways, she focussed on the hidden cards. Biting on her fingers, she reconsidered her choice, which was once again faulty, "Damn, Ron…I can't."

He held her hand, "Yes you can. Use that last shot wisely."

"Ron?"

He shrugged, "I have my moments. Now beat this statue staring at us, will you?" He watched her shift her gaze from one card to the other and back. He found the blush on her cheeks quite adorable. "Take a leap of faith, girl." Blowing a loud breath through her teeth, she touched two cards, expecting a new failure.

To her surprise, the old man shoved her the key, and she punched in the air, "YES!" Rising to her feet, she jumped up and down, "Holly shit. I did it! I did it!" letting her held up stress fly away. Ron chuckled, "I knew you would," but found himself in a choking hug, receiving a loud peck on his cheeks.

She ran outside, still shouting and flew into Neville's arms, "Did you see it, Neville? I did it! I nailed it!" He twirled her around, "I saw it, Tracey, I'm so proud of you!" She beamed and didn't wait until he put her on her feet again, holding his face with both hands and kissing him full on the mouth in front of everyone.

The Slytherins grinned, Ron watched open-mouthed, while Hermione and Lavender covered their mouths stunned.

Tracey redrew, blinked a few times and apologised sheepishly, "I'm sorry, Neville."

"I'm not." Returning the kiss with a shorter one, "I like you."

-oOo **Dungeons** oOo-

Harry and Pansy faced each other, both calmed down, dreading their night on the floor. In the distance they heard multiple steps come through, Hermione leading the troops. In her arms a small bundle, while Draco and Blaise seemed to carry a more significant burden.

Hermione reached them first, "Here I brought you a muffin each. I stole them from the dinner table. Have you eaten?"

"A dry cheese sandwich and a glass of water." Pansy sounded defeated, accepting the dessert and biting a big chunk." She accepted the bottle of water Tracey carried, handing over the second one to Harry. "Thank you."

Draco mentioned to the burden in his hands, "We've brought some spare blankets we found in a closet, and a pillow, that you can use as an extra, I see," pointing with his chin to the one already present. He held out his package, waiting for Pansy to put away her muffin, while Blaise handed over his cargo to Harry, whistling, "Potter, I don't envy you tonight."

Harry shrugged, "It's just for a night. We learned our lesson. How did your challenge go, Ron?"

"Tracey here nailed, mate. It was a memory game."

"You were lucky, with your short memory span…"

"Don't need to rub it in, she won and kissed our Neville full on the lips to celebrate her victory."

Pansy exclaimed, "What? Tracey, you naughty witch… And you do something like that while I'm stuck in here?"

The witch in question flushed red, finding her squeezed against Neville's chest, who shushed, "Stop messing with her, Pansy."

Blaise added, "We won't tease her, we will focus our taunting on the wizard here. The Gryffindor stole a fine Slytherin witch here. We need to give him the talk."

Hermione frowned, "Which talk exactly?"

Theo winked, "That's not so difficult to guess, Granger, the treat-her-well-or-we-will-retaliate type of speech."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she enquired, "Do you give the same speech to your wizards too?"

"No, we tell our wizards to place their hands on strategic places to stop their fall." He didn't hesitate to strike, not flinching away from Hermione's nasty glare, "I have to say: he succeeded with high honours."

"Nott…" grunted the blond.

"You should warn your wizards. If the action repeats, I'm not responsible for the consequences. My knee would love some action." Her smile was directed at Draco himself, and very clear in its intent.

The wizard nodded first and sneaked meaningfully at his fellow housemates who hid their glee behind a rubbing gesture, "I apologise, Granger, on the contrary of what Nott here is spreading, our little thing was completely unplanned."

Everyone remained a while longer, before heading to their beds, Hermione kissed Harry goodbye on the cheek and squeezed Pansy's arm, "Try to get some sleep, these trolls don't have compassion."

Ron waved at the two, "Harry, Pansy."

"Hey, Weasley, where's my goodnight kiss?" She pouted her lips at him, her face against the bars. And she blinked, feeling him pressing his lips on hers for mere seconds.

"I'll always do as the lady pleases. Good night baby, dream of me." Ron winked, unsure inwards if his move was smart at all. But when she poked at him, he reacted instinctively. She riled him up, damn if he wouldn't play the same game.


	5. An Unexpected Talk and Day Four

**Chapter 5: An Unexpected Talk and Day Four.**

Harry folded one of the blankets as a mattress, grateful they had a spare one to use as a cover, "I miss our bunker beds, it's not going to be an easy night." He turned to Pansy but saw she had her back turned to him. He shrugged and wanted to twist again when he saw a light shoulder tremble. Furrowing his eyebrows, he touched her shoulder, and rotated her to him, "Parkinson?"

Pansy jerked her shoulder away but wasn't able to contain a sob. Harry rose her chin up, "Hey, witch, we'll live through this. We won a war, what's a night on a stone bed?"

"I…didnot…do…"

"I know you didn't, and I should have been less demanding." Harry squeezed her arm, apologetically.

"You were correct, you know? If not for Draco's help, I wouldn't have made it. He has the patience of a saint." Pansy dried her tears from her cheeks, still hiccupping between her words.

"Don't make me laugh, saint and Malfoy in the same sentence…" and he steered away to avoid a whack against his shoulder, "I see you are returning to your normal self."

She sat down with a huff, "This is such an incredible fuck-up. We get along just fine, apart from a small fire here or there. Have you seen Theo and Neville? Those two are fraternising as if they have been friends for ages. Your witches' wit is flooring me, who knew prude Granger had a wicked side?"

"Bull's eye conclusion, Parkinson. Hermione has been breaking the rules since year one." Harry chuckled at the sweet memories.

"That's what I mean; she has a string of Slytherin in her veins…"

"She can be quite vindictive, ask Edgecombe. I guess she still has some pimples as a reminder." He laughed freely.

"And she still holds a grudge against Lavender, right?"

"It's much Lavender's fault as Hermione's. Herm's and Ron are not romantically involved anymore, but I believe the way Lavender dangled their relationship in front of Hermione's nose left a scar. One that stung viciously…"

"I understand, enter my assessment about her Slytherin streak. But that's my point exactly. We should have been able to make up our decisions about each other based on our own opinions. I entered Hogwarts believing Muggles were inferior beings, and judging Weasley's based on a vendetta I know the bullocks of. Not that Ron is a perfect example of a wizard." She stretched out her ankles in front of her, leaning back on her hands behind her back.

"Careful there, Parkinson, Ron might do-first-and-think-after, but he wears his heart on his sleeve. He has a heart of gold and is a loyal friend. He is sometimes a hothead, agreed. By the way, what was that about a night kiss? Explain…"

"I have nothing to tell you," trying hard to dismiss him.

"His gangly way is appealing to you, eh Slytherin…?"

"Potter, I was starting to like you."

He wiggled his fingers in front of her face, "I sense someone who's in denial," his grin couldn't be wider, "I bet Trelawney's tea leaves are flashing 'Pansy fancies Ronald'." He had to dodge her pillow, smirking at her flushed face.

She hissed, "Stop it!" He guffawed loud, and she hid her face in her hands, "Prat."

He chuckled some more before he calmed down and continued her reasoning, "I give you this much, you are correct. Between Malfoy and us are still some deep waters to navigate, not all will be solved over a night's sleep." Pansy nodded, "But with the rest of your lot? We get along better than expected. Maybe McGonagall was correct; maybe we can achieve a change inside the castle's walls. Overturn the vendettas between the houses, and unite the Wizardry world."

Pansy added, "A Hufflepuff isn't a Slytherin, but we need the softies to counteract the cunning. We should help each other, not fight against one another." She paused, to ponder on her next words, "Now, about Draco. If you give him a chance, he might surprise you. I know he yearns after forgiveness, regrets most of all the nasty words he said to your girl. Did you know he had a serious back fall with his father about all the lies Lucius fed him concerning Muggleborn's?"

"He told me he considers himself unworthy of Hermione."

"Because it's how he feels." She rubbed her hands on her thighs, "I'm babbling here, and I count you'll cover for me: Draco has a crush on Hermione since she hit him with her right hook. She hit him square in the jaw, and it's like she awoke something he didn't know he felt. Did you know how jealous I was of her at the Yule Ball?"

Harry frowned, still stunned by Pansy's revelations, "Why? You looked beautiful too…"

"Because the moment your girl entered the ballroom at the arm of Krum, my" pointing at her chest, "companion stopped paying attention to me. Draco's eyes followed her every move. It did quite a number on my self-esteem. And as payback, I struck him in the head." She chuckled remembering, "He always believed his feelings for her were wrong as fuck. His head was filled with the ridiculous allegations from his father. What did reality teach us?"

"I get your point. What do you think will happen?"

"If your girl has an open mind to accept his apologies, they might have a future together. He was an arse to you, but for me? He's my best friend, loyal, and protective. If she declines him? I'll have to help him recover."

"But between you two?"

"Aside from some snogging to satisfy the juvenile hormones? Nothing can happen when your boy's heart belongs to another witch."

"Much has happened between the four of us, to wipe it all under a rug."

"I can't say you are wrong. I just hope you can meet each other in the middle, and her to see beyond the armour. He has learned some nasty lessons, and he stands in life now with a much different demeanour. He became humble, believe it or not."

Harry sighed and stretched over his blanket, arm over his head, "Time will tell… Pansy. Good night witch."

"Likewise, Potter."

-oOo **Day Four** oOo-

The group wizards and witches waited in a good mood for the assignments, under bright sunshine, happy to be complete again. The goblins approached them and waved to follow, leading them to the restricted area inside the courtyard. Taking out a hoop, Gnarluk motioned them to insert ten of the thirteen collected keys.

"We only needed ten keys? We went through fifteen challenges." Blaise spoke casually. Tracey completed his reasoning, "It's nice to be aware that we have room for failure. Imagine if we needed all the fifteen of them."

Gnarluk grunted under his breath, annoyed.

Hermione riposted, "Something to say, Mr Gnarluk?"

"No." He barked back, handing her over a roll of parchment, "Read."

Offering him a condescending smile, she did a quick swipe over the text, showing surprise on her face, "It's from Professor McGonagall." All the others came closer, "She says, from now on the game will change. We have to collect clues to guess the code word to win the game. And instead of being appointed to a challenge, we will have to determine which couple is the best fitted to approach each challenge."

Ron spoke, "From now on, we read those sheets, and we decide who we send in?"

Hermione nodded and continued to read, "We'll have to consider each other's strengths and make the best decision. Oh and she ends with good luck to all of us."

Draco rubbed his chin, "I think we should be open about what we don't want to do, so we don't waste time while choosing the wrong couple."

"No spiders nor snakes for me," Ron started, and the rest laughed.

Tracey nudged him, "We know it already, Ron."

"No ghosts!" Lavender followed.

Blaise added, "Yes, please, my eardrums are still recovering."

Theo punched him in his shoulder, "Ninny."

Blaise shoved him back, "Be my guest," offering him a hand, "If you want to test your hearing limits."

The dark-haired Slytherin shivered on the prospect, "I believe your word, Blaise."

Gnarluk growled, "Follow me." He took off and led the whole team outside to a pontoon where a two-seat canoe floated. He pointed at three posts in the water. Harry looked around him, "Who feels up to a round of canoeing?"

"Not me, my hair could get wet." Lavender skidded off.

"Your nails could break too…" Blaise mocked her, and Hermione laughed her head off. The remaining four couples looked at each other.

Draco shook his head, "If you don't mind, I would like to sit this one out, I'm not sure if Hermione's shoulder can handle it." He surprised everyone with his concern, "It's better to save her strength, am I wrong?"

Pansy smiled softly at him, "Granger, isn't he a nobleman right now? Him considering your injury?"

"Yes, he's charming."

"Malfoy my man, you are being praised." Blaise slapped him slightly harder than needed on the blonds' shoulder, who reddened under the compliments.

Tracey raised her hand, "I would like to try."

Harry, however, remarked, "Rowing requires stamina, Tracey. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I do, and I have confidence that Ron will handle it too."

Ron shrugged and headed to the canoe, "I'll enter first," offering a hand gallantly to his witch.

Harry helped Tracey step in also and gave the couple some advice, "I did this once with Dudley, you need to coordinate your movements; otherwise you won't get far. That's why a rowing team has a captain, to make sure everyone paddles from the same side at the same pace."

Their first attempts were hilarious for the bystanders. Instead of paddling towards the first goal, they kept turning around. Harry shouted from the pontoon, "The same paddle-side, at the same time!" A few loops later, Ron and Tracey got the hang of it, yelling, "Left. Right," to mark a rhythm. Slow but steady they reached the first post. Tracy dangled the first tube and beamed at the applause.

But they had two more posts to reach, and towards the second their rowing pace got messed up before they knew, their canoe performing a three-sixty. Both wizard and witch spat water out, "Bloody hell, salt water, bah."

On the side everyone folded double of laughter, Neville confessed, "If they keep it up, I'll wet my pants!" The sight remained hilarious, now two drowned cats were paddling finally at a decent rate. They reached the second post faster than the first, and the third one demanded two new spin-rounds before Tracey was able to scratch her way closer, she crawled literally closer using her hands until she snatched the last tube.

Theo stood with his head resting on his arm against the stone wall, his shoulders shaking violently from laughter. Even Draco dried tears away watching the efforts of the couple to return to the group. Somehow they forgot how to synchronise their paddling, and they returned to the looping from the start. Harry tried to get the rhythm again, shouting again left and right between his guffaws.

Blaise accepted the three tubes to uncork them, freeing the pieces of paper containing a code. He reached Uruk, used the cypher and opened a box, only then noticing an hour-glass almost at its end, "Shit, we almost ran out of time."

Uruk grunted, and pointed at the box first, then to the hour-glass and gestured an explosion. Blaise asked first for confirmation, "What? If we ran out of time, the hint explodes?" Uruk nodded, "Hey, we have to keep an eye on the time too!"

The hint he revealed showed, "990 a. D"

Lavender asked, "What does that mean? A.D?"

Draco and Hermione answered at the same time, "Anno Domini." He smiled and gestured her to simplify it.

"Anno Domini or, in the year of the lord." She lectured, "This hint is a year? Year of what?"

Theo suggested, "Focus now on gathering more hints before you overload that brain of yours with all your thinking, Hermione."

Pansy snaked an arm around Hermione's, "For once, I agree with Theo." Gaining a side-eye from the said wizard.

Gnarluk growled, "Follow!" What he forgot to mention was they were going from the ground floor to the rooftop with destination: Watch Tower. None of the youngsters was still fresh after such a cruel pace and trail from hell. The wizards showed themselves from their most sportive side, adjusting their rhythms to the smaller ones of their female counterparts, and even offering a hand to help them keep up.

Theo held a hand up upon arrival; demanding a minute of rest and calm down their breaths. After a few moments, the group paid attention to their next challenge, 'Guess a riddle'.

Blaise put his hands in the air, "You need two working brains for this, intelligence is primordial, and I have a handicap." Glancing at his partner, who was oblivious at the snide.

The rest grinned and discussed, "Ron and Tracey are out for today, leave us with brain team, muscle team and mix team." Theo divided the pairs.

"Elaborate Nott, who's who?" Harry was curious if this assessment matched his.

Theo didn't disappoint, "Brain team," pointing at Draco and Hermione, "Muscle team: _moi_ and my buddy Neville, and you, Harry with my dear Pansy, you form the mixed team."

Lavender jumped up and down, "What's our name?" Blaise rolled his eyes, wondering how old this witch was?

"Barbie and Ken."

"Beauty and the beast."

"Thank you, Granger, I was starting to like you." He stuck his tongue out at the brunette, who smiled wide back.

"Zabini," she whispered, "Nonetheless, I consider you the Beauty half." Her honey-sweet smile carried a naughtiness the wizard loved by now.

He pecked her on the cheek, "I forgive you."

Neville turned his focus to the more critical issue, "Who goes in?"

Eight fingers pointed at Draco and Hermione, the blond shrugging, "Majority wins, I'm afraid. Granger lets go."

Entering the Watch Tower the couple was greeted by the French version of Dumbledore, a more wrinkled but less imposing stature, "Bonjour, bienvenue, welcome! I have a riddle for you, you are such a lovely couple."

Hermione exchanged a look with her partner, mouthing, "Is he for real?" He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug, smirking.

The older man introduced himself, "I'm Pere Fouras, and I'll be your host today. I have a riddle for you," inclining his head to Uruk, "My friend, turn the sand glass will you?" He took a deep breath, "Pay attention, my friends:

Vincent was a famous one, and people still enjoy his torment-filled pictures,

In this sort of war, no one is shot, but many are cut and slashed,

If you have one on your head, you're in trouble."

Hermione's eyes widened, "What?"

Draco repeated sentence by sentence, to break it down, "Vincent was a famous one, and people still enjoy his pictures. Ring a bell?"

Hermione shook her head, "It's about torment-filled pictures. Why? Because they are disgusting?"

"No idea, Granger, Sort of war with no blood but many are cut and slashed… It feels like I'm listening to Mandarin, damn it, I understand the bullocks of this."

"Let's take the last one Malfoy, what can you have on your head that could lead to trouble? Caps and hats don't cause trouble."

"But if you have a price on your head, you're in trouble."

"Damn it, Malfoy I could kiss you right now!" In an impulse, she held his face on her hands, releasing it a second later, grinning, "Vincent Price is a famous horror actor! My father loved his movies, and I always hid behind the couch of fright, every time I sneaked in to watch one."

Draco was stupefied, and didn't react immediately to her words, "Eh…hum…"

"Malfoy to Planet Earth?" She waved a hand in front of his eyes.

"Eh, yes, Granger?" He blinked.

"It's price! The answer is price, right Mr Pere Furaz?" Hermione couldn't hide her eagerness, "Price wars, slashed and cut. It fits like a glove."

The French Dumbledore-look-a-like smile, "Yes, _Mon Cherie_ ," A blond eyebrow rose at the endearment, "You guessed…correctly." He held up a hand with a distinctive piece of parchment.

Hermione had no patience, snatched it out of his hand, and read it to Draco, "Scotland. What happened in Scotland in the year 990 before the Lord?"

"Have no clue, Granger."

She patted him on the arm, slightly harder than meant, and she blushed, "Sorry, let's return."

Pansy interrogated them at first sight, "Spill the beans, Dramione."

Hermione frowned, "Huh?"

"Never mind, I meant Hermione and Draco."

The wizard mouthed at Pansy, behind Hermione's back, "What the hell?" Pansy's dismissive wave riled him up more.

Hermione ignored it and threw the new hint in the group, "Scotland."

Neville counted on his fingers, "We have a year - 990 a. D. - and Scotland."

Harry added, "Not enough to ring a bell yet, or do you have an idea, Hermione?"

"Not yet, Harry."

"Less talk, next test!" Aside from Lavender, everyone saluted but followed Gnarluk meekly.

Draco stalled Pansy, "What the hell was that about Pans? Dramione?"

"I ship you guys, she's good for you."

"I'll end up with a hexed arse thanks to you if you keep this shite up, witch. Stop meddling." He hissed, clenching his fists. His mind was already in dirty places, courtesy of his object of obsession, planning a little visit to a particular cubicle later.

"I'm just lending you a hand, I'm working already on turning around her best friends assumptions about you…" They kept a lazier pace behind the rest of the group.

"You did what?" He stopped in his tracks, spinning around to face her.

"I had just had a nice chat with Potter last night. We've traded secrets." Her wink was devilish.

"Are you seducing Potter and Weasley?" He sent her a wry smile in return.

"Potter is head over heels with Weaslette. Weasel is pushing my buttons daily. Now, what I mean is, Potter is changing his mindset about you, many thanks to me and my effort. You're welcome." She sprinted away, after a light jerk of her chin. He remained behind, astounded.

-oOo-

From the rooftop, the group ran to the second floor, holding a halt at one of the arcs. From that spot, two ropes hung over the Atrium to the other side of the fortress, one higher than the other, meant to cross the open space stepping on the lower cord, while holding on to the top one. Gnarluk pointed out, "Hint halfway."

Blaise nearly begged, "Let me do this one, it's like its custom made for me." The side looped smiles he received, agreed wordlessly with his choice of activity; for this one he didn't need Lavender, it was more a solo job. Gnarluk attached a security belt around his waist and instructed him how to start.

It turned out his assessment was correct; he kept a nice pace shovelling to the side, never wavering despite how high he was above the ground. Everyone was silent, intent on not to bring Blaise out of his concentration.

Of course Lavender didn't think so far, "Blaise, move faster. How hard can it be? Ouch!" She threw a deadly stare at Pansy who swat her on the head, "What was that good for?"

"Stupid bitch, he's already moving at a fast pace, ignorant. Have you paid attention to how high he stands above the ground? Even with the security belt around him?" Pansy was seething and by the looks of Hermione's face, so was the brunette. She continued to hiss, "If he falls, he'll swing pretty nasty. So keep that filthy annoying snatter shut, or I'll push you over the railing."

Hermione hissed, "I'll lend a hand or two, Pansy."

The blond Gryffindor witch decided to pout but refrained from further comment.

Theo and Neville placed themselves at each side of the rope to help Blaise find a steady ground and step out; the tanned wizard passed over the hint tube to his blond friend. He huffed, jumping to the ground, a wave of relief brushing through him, all went as he hoped, "And Draco, what does it say?"

Harry looked over Draco's shoulder and frowned, while the blond Slytherin read, "De Mimsy-Porpington." Draco looked behind him at Harry, "Does the name ring a bell, Potter?"

Harry shook his head, "I haven't the slightest idea. Never heard of it." He shot his best friend a questioning look but Hermione shook her head, "I've read it somewhere, but can't say exactly where and its context."

Ron jerked his chin to the goblin, "Next clue, please?" Gnarluk grunted but lead the group a few doors down and pointed at the flipping page. Ron read it aloud, "Capestan, push the rotation machine all the way to haul the hint. My bet is this is one for strength and force. Don't take me wrong Pansy, but I think Neville and Theo should do this."

"None taken, Harry might not have enough muscle power alone to achieve the goal. We'll take the next shift."

Next to her Theo fist-bumped Neville, "Warm up those biceps Nev, we're up!" They entered the cell and found in its centre a rotating mechanism as in ships, so the seamen could haul heavy ropes. They wasted no time and worked synchronised, cheered up by the girls outside the cell, who followed their challenge through a TV-screen.

"C'mon Neville and Theo!"

"Let the abs work their arses off."

"Neville you're my hero." Tracey's cheer made everyone smirk and caused Neville to flush red. Theo winked at this partner.

Their combined forces added to the present heat in the room - filled with a radiating sun - turned the cell into a small sauna. Both wizards sweated heavily while pushing the mechanism non-stop.

"Fuck, how much more, Nev?" Theo puffed, "This shit weights like a ton."

"We are almost there. Bloody hell," Neville grunted, began to feel a burn in his thighs, and released his force on the wheel just for a second. The diminishing strength of the mechanism allowed the wheel to reverse, which pushed Theo back, the poor wizard skidding powerless.

"Fuck, Neville, get your arse back in here. This fucker is on payback time." No matter how much he tried to push back, the result remained the same: him sliding backwards. "Damn it, Longbottom, come back!"

"Alright, I'm coming, Nott." They kept hoisting the rope until the tube containing the hint appeared over the window, "Let us keep rotating until that thing is inside the room." Puffing and grunting, they kept pushing until the blissful plop announced the fall of the tube.

Neville let go of the wheel, distracted, and the dark-haired Slytherin had barely the time to jump away and protect his crown jewels from an unexpected attack, "Oh, fuck." Both men forgot about the reversing issue, "A second too late and goodbye little Nott's."

The Gryffindor smirked, "Sorry Theo, but rather you than me." He rolled the piece of parchment open and read, "A murdered thief."

"These hints get weirder by the minute. See if it rings a bell in our brain team." The Slytherin swung the door open, "Hermione, a murdered thief! Ring a bell?"

"Countless possibilities, A murdered thief in Scotland around 990 a.D.? I need the Hogwarts library!"

"I thought you were a walking encyclopedia, Hermione." Harry winked at her.

She raised her chin, "I refuse to have a battle of wits against an unarmed opponent." Behind her only Draco chuckled, drawing up the attention of his fellow Slytherins and their questioning looks to him. Hermione lifted a corner of her mouth stealthily. "Harry, I don't see the link yet. Do you?"

Gnarluk interjected, "The last one for today, follow me!"

The party of ten moved to the pontoon again, Harry already looking forward to his own rowing challenge. They are brought to a halt, where Uruk explains, "Two go from there to there," pointing first at zip line starting from the fortress' wall, over a platform on the top of an external staircase and ended at a pontoon several feet away from where the group was standing. "One dive for the lobster cage, and hint inside the cage. Then two swim back."

"Potter, my hair will get wet."

"Parkinson, cook me tonight one of those lobsters."

"Who do I look like? Nigella Lawson? I eat lobsters, I don't cook them." She shoved him forward, "You should probably ditch your tank top, to dive better."

"Quid pro quo, babe. Only the sun rises for free." Harry shared a look with a flushed Ron and winked.

Hermione shook her head, eye-rolling, "Oversexed teenagers." Yet she approached Pansy in silence, "I think you should follow your own advice, it could slow you down."

With a big sigh, Pansy took her top out, hand it over to Hermione and held Harry's wrist in a vice hold, "Let's do this Potter before I lose my courage to zip line this shite." Uruk waited for them on the platform to instruct them.

Harry counted to three, "C'mon Pansy, grab your big boy panty's and soar with me. One – Two – Threeee." Together, they flew down, Pansy yelling her lungs out until it was time to jump. In synch, they landed on the second pontoon, and Harry dove the seawater in, finding under the wooden platform the attached lobster cage.

With zero effort he freed it and dragged it, swinging it with slightly more power than necessary up to the pontoon. He pushed himself up while Pansy attempted to insert her hand in the cage. The lobsters looked menacing, and her fingers didn't enter beyond the first knuckle, "Ah! Potter get your arse over here!"

The wizard laughed his arse off, "Miss Parkinson is afraid of a crustacean?"

"Have you seen their claws?"

"Yes, they are clamped together, you see? There's some kind of rubber band around to prevent them from chopping off your precious hand." He mocked her, while he fished three of them before he could access the plastic tube, "Gotcha! Parkinson, join me for a swim, will you?" He dove into the water and set a cruel pace in his crawl. Halfway he changed his mind and waited gallantly for his partner who used the frog technique. "Don't they teach you how to swim at Slytherin's? You swim like a six-year-old muggle child."

"Shut up, Potter." Harry adjusted his pace and held a stop a few times, to let her close the distance. She needed two arm swings to match one of his, and it annoyed her to no end. Luckily for her, the end was near.

Ron was chuckling at how often Harry had to pause, even the Slytherin showed no compassion. Neville just smiled softly. Tracey, Lavender and Hermione, however, shared sly looks. This display of testosterone was not so amusing. Silently, they sneaked up behind the unaware wizards, who stood too close to the edge.

Hermione mouthed, "One, two, three." Running up the few last steps, she bumped Draco over the edge; the splashes next to her confirming her partners-in-crime' success. Tracey pushed Ronald, while Lavender did a payback on Blaise. Theo was happy-dancing for staying dry, but a nudge from Neville together with a pull coming from the waterside by Harry, and the last Slytherin dove in the water willing or not.

"Granger, this means war." Draco looked menacing at his partner, and using his upper arm strength, he was back on the pontoon in no time. He walked over in long strides to approach her, but his prey foresaw his game and took off, laughing. Tracey and Lavender sensed danger as well and ran away, but Blaise reached Tracey with as much as no effort.

He ordered Ron, who passed him by on a sprint, "That witch is for you." In the meantime, he hauled Tracey over his shoulder, put her on her feet in front of Neville, "You take her arms, I'll hold the legs, but you witch, you'll pay dearly." Harry and Pansy laughed loud, watching the whole scene unfold.

In the distance, Ron dragged a rebelling Lavender, and Neville gave assistance to bring the sheep at the offer table. Merciless, they threw her in the water and splashed right behind her, sending a wave of salt water at Lavender's face once more.

The group of eight was shoving water at each other, the sounds of their laughter raising up into the blue sky. The water games let them be the teenagers they still were in their hearts. Free. Worriless.

None noticed the absence of a blond wizard chasing a curly hair witch who ran for her life. Hermione couldn't hold back her laugh; this was pure fun. A few times he almost got her, but she slipped through his fingers much to his grunted frustration.

However, he was not in a bad mood, he smiled broadly at her bright spirit while he trailed behind her over stairs and arches. Draco used his Slytherin cunning talent and tricked her into a fake move, luring her in. All of a sudden, he was there, pushing her against a wall, shaking his wet hair over her face forcing drops of seawater to fall on her cheeks, and all of this while he breathed in heavily, exhales mixed with laughter.

She looked up with sparkling eyes, panting. Smiling broadly.

And his world froze.

He became fully aware of her small shape. His focus tuned at every inch of her soft body against his, her breasts pressed against his chest. She fit within his frame flawlessly, head at shoulder height perfect for snuggling. His eyes roamed slowly over her face, starting at the glow in her eyes, to the soft pink colour on her cheeks.

Draco's gaze landed as last on her slightly parted lips. He fought a big internal struggle but gave in to his instincts, and kissed her while his hands curled around her cheeks in a very gentle way. His tongue darted out, licking her lips and demanding entrance. When she gave him permission, he tasted every corner, toying until her tongue battled his.

He ended the kiss, before she regained her wits, letting her lips slip from his hold. Taking advantage of her confused face, he hauled her over his shoulder and ran towards the pontoon. Changing fast the way he held her, to make sure she wouldn't dive heads down, he took a leap and jumped with her in the water. She came above water, spitting the few drops out her mouth, looking darkly at him. But in her gaze, he read something more. His kiss had messed with her system; she was blown away. He just hoped the payback wouldn't be severe.


	6. Scratching an itch

**I'd given up on this fic, due to lack of love. But recently I've been receiving quite a few requests to continue. This chapter is not beta'ed, only pulled by Grammarly, so forgive me for the few mistakes you might find. I don't want to burden my two lovely beta's from the other fics with this one, also.**

 **Depending on its reception, I'll go on or not... Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Scratching an itch**

The ten lied on the deck, drying under the late afternoon sun. Arms sprawled, bellies shaking of fun that just wouldn't stop. Soaking wet, shoes included.

"Hey, Potter!" Theo shouted as last of the row, "What's the clue actually?"

"Oh, shit… we almost forgot!" Harry's answer started a new round of giggles, looking at their neighbour.

At the opposite end from Theo, Draco rose and supported his head on the bent arm, "Well, Potter, open the damn tube and read it."

"Malfoy, patience is a virtue."

"One he doesn't have!" Hermione concluded. She crossed looks with the wizard, having Pansy and Blaise between them.

Pansy defended, "Have you?"

Ron coughed, "Hermione and patience? Tons!" It got him a nasty look, and he was happy to have Harry between them.

Harry defused the mood, "The hint reads: The killer who killed himself."

"So far we have 990AD, Scotland, a murdered thief, the killer who killed himself and Mr. whatever his name was."

Draco corrected, "De Mimsy-Porpington."

"I'm sure I can find the answers in the Hogwarts library." Hermione thought out loud, itching for her notebook and pen. The connections started to form something known, like that word lying right under the tongue but refuse to come out.

"Not available at the moment, Granger," Blaise observed, irritating the witch a little more.

"No shit Sherlock!"

Harry burst in laughter, as did Tracey recognising the name. The others side-eyed the brunette, clueless.

-oOo-

After dinner and freshly showered, Hermione sought her way to the upper level, finding a right spot to admire the sky while allowing her hair to dry under the sunset.

The view was astonishingly beautiful, the calm Atlantic ocean the only sound around her.

Her mind was spinning in overdrive. All the clues until now sounded familiar, and Hermione truly regretted not bringing her History of Hogwarts book for some guidance.

But it wasn't the only subject on her mind.

Her thoughts came revolving around a certain wizard, their little cat and mouse chase and the way it ended before they joined the group.

 _He kissed me. Out of nothing, he kissed me. It felt good. One kiss does not wipe out the years of bullying just like that. Even if he seems to have changed. Cordial to Ron, slightly more open to Harry, and to me? Not one wrong word, in fact, always supportive and considerate._

As if she spoke of the devil. Footsteps behind her exposed a nearing person, and the object invading her thoughts sat next to her, pulling up his knees. Mimicking her posture.

They remained silent for a while until it became too much for her. She exhaled loudly and shuffled.

"Granger." He spoke calmly, but shifted to her and turned her chin to him with his fingers, "We need to talk."

Her hum in agreement came more sounding like a whimper.

"There are things I need to apologise for, like a lifetime of inappropriate behaviour. And what happened at my Manor."

She faced him completely, chin resting on her forearms, "Malfoy... Draco. Did you point the wand at me to crucio me?"

He jerked, "No."

"Did you use the cursed blade on my skin?"

"No."

"Than, there is nothing for you to apologise for. The one to blame is dead. My scar can't be healed because that is the aftermath from a cursed knife. Yet, none of it is your fault."

"I should have stopped her!"

"At what cost?"

"I could have done something!" Familiar guilt consumed him from within, once more.

"Again, Draco. What exactly?" Her fingers tingled to shake at his shoulders, "She was so far gone, I don't think she would have spared your life." A fresh intake of air brought her calmness. "You're not a saint. I discovered the meaning of a foul word thanks to you. You spared no effort to make my friends lives miserable, with your constant denigrating words."

"I've apologised for those already. We are trying to be civil and start a new leaf." Frustrated, he stood back on his feet, raking through his hair. "I can't go back in time and redo all that the shit I did with the knowledge of today. I can't, Granger." She watched him, head in the neck. "No one hates me more than I do. I was an imbecile, for believing other man's truths without questioning."

Draco walked to the edge of the fortress, "There's nothing filthy about your blood. It's not muddy, fuck… it's the same tone of red like mine. It haunts me, watching you suffer on my bloody floor." He spun angered, "I can't forget what I did. I can only ask for a new opportunity, for a new start."

"Do you mean it?"

"Fuck, Granger. Do you think I'm giving you my best act? Of course, I fucking mean it. Potter seems to be a nice bloke, Ron and I will never be mates, I'm sorry. But you… I want to know you better. To have a chance at whatever this is between us." He walked a few steps away and returned, "I'm not asking you to marry me, Granger. Don't go and buy a wedding dress already…" Between exhales, he tried to laugh.

"I was already thinking on the venue." Hermione rolled her eyes but approached him nonetheless. "I accept your apology under one condition…"

"Name it, Granger."

"I want you to call me by my given name from now on. If we are to become friends, I don't want no more of the Granger-shit."

"What do I get in return?"

"Hello, Draco. I'm Hermione, nice to meet you." She extended her hand.

He took it between his bigger one, pressing a kiss on the knuckles as it befits a gentleman, "Enchanted, Hermione." She giggled.

-oOo-

Gnarluk woke everyone up earlier than usual. Pansy threw her pillow angered against the closing door.

Hermione hid her face on her own, grunting, "I'm not ready!"

"Who is, Hermione?" Tracey complained unusual of her doing.

Lavender snored loudly, Pansy stole Hermione's cushion and hit the blond with it, "Wake up, idiot. Your beauty sleep is over!"

"Five more minutes."

"Out of your bed!" A new smack did the job.

"Why are you so violent this morning?" The chin was trembling.

"If we have to get our arses out of bed at this ungodly hour, so does your royal behind."

Joining the boys in the hall, it was apparent the short night also affected the wizards. Blaise and Draco looked as if they could commit murder, Harry and Ron seemed to be sleepwalking. Theo had a more human look, and Neville was the only happy face.

Draco seethed, "They better have a good reason."

"Grumpy cat, shut up!" Pansy lashed out before Tracey and Hermione could react.

Their mood did not improve, as their breakfast was again, more of the same dry food.

"I would kill for some eggs…" Hermione whined, after setting up the kettle.

"Or some porridge with honey…" Tracey continued…

"Bagels…"

Harry effort to keep the courage, "Two more days and we'll be back to the normal world."

Gnarluk grunted, waving his arm widely, "Come!"

"We are not finished!" Ron hated to be taken away from his meal, especial if he wasn't even halfway.

"Come!"

The ginger looked murderous and snatched a last slice of bread with cheese to go. Needless to say that nobody was in a happy spirit.

It became sourer, being forced to run three floors up and almost the entire half on that level. The goblin pointed out at a sheet of paper.

Early hour, not enough food and heavy exercise? A bit more, and blood would be shed.

Harry read aloud, "Find the hint after walking through a maze, guided by the team."

Blaise jumped on this opportunity, "I can do this!"

Gnarluk barked, "Two people job."

"Perfect, you guys guide me, I and the barbie here will follow your instructions. I'll find the hint."

"Be our guest." Ron understood Blaise's despair. You couldn't rely on Lavender at all…

-oOo-

It was a dark inside.

Lavender was again hanging on Blaise's neck, "I hate this shit… Will we find ghosts again?"

"Woman, keep your mouth zipped." He felt around him and found cold, damp walls, smelling the mould in the air. His eyes adjusted to the darkness but even then he was as blind as a mole.

"Blaise walk forward until you feel a wall before you." The man stepped cautiously, arms stretched in front of him. His pants were being pulled down by the girl, who held on to him for dear.

"Will you fucking stop undressing me!" He gritted.

"Deal with it. Your bum is nothing I haven't seen before." Instead of one hand, she used both pushing his pants more down the hips.

 _Would someone notice if she disappeared?_

"Blaise, go to your right...now your left…" Outside, none of them could make out of the images how much Lavender was annoying the man. Neither really calculate how many steps he had to walk before he would encounter for the umpteenth time a barrier.

"Fuck. CAN'T YOU WARN ME?" He expected already the fifth lump on the head, he was fending off the hands pulling his pants down, non-stop.

"Oh, arsehole don't shout like that!" Lavender covered her ears, cringing.

"Sorry, Blaise. Mate, you're almost there!" Theo's voice sounded through. "Go to your right...put out your arm you'll feel an opening to the left and take it."

The tanned wizard was catapulted by a witch who didn't pay attention. "If you're not dead by the end of this test, it's pure luck." He seethed.

Finally, after countless close encounters with unexpected walls, and his pants nearly at his knees - they had already surpassed his arse - he arrived at a room only lit by a torch held by an almost naked woman.

Her body was full of small pictures painted on her skin.

"Look at that. Can't she cover her tits?" Lavender looked indignant at the display.

"Help me look for a hint, don't compare the goodies. They are much better than yours."

"How rude, Blaise." She put the fists at her waist, "That's not true. My tits are prettier."

The wizard rose to his full height, grabbed the witch by her head and turned her rudely towards the naked woman, "Help me find the bloody hint, or I'll lose my fucking control."

"We will never get along, Blaise."

"Thank you, Merlin!" He grabbed the torch for a better view. The spine was full of demons, wings and angels in various poses, on the belly more of the same.

"Why don't you taste the tits? You might savour the hint."

Taking a deep breath, Blaise was happy for the lack of sound outside and hoped for the lack of colour too, so his blush wasn't visible. He might be or not paying close attention to the woman's bosom. Moving on to another part, he took an arm turned it both ways, then the other, sank through his knees admiring the lovely pair of legs, while searching for only Merlin knew what.

"I fucking found it!" Under a globe, he read the word, _'option_ ated hat'. Blaise used his fingers to stretch the skin for a better view - or so did he explained it later, not that the boys missed the real intention.

Once the hint was found, lights went up, and he saw the way easily out not even bothering to look if Lavender followed him.

"You forgot to raise the breast, Blaise love. For all we knew, the hint could have been underneath." Theo rubbed it, the colour on the screen wasn't needed to know where the thoughts were of his friend.

"I forgot…"

"His nose was otherwise on the top of the nipple." Lavender accused him, unabashedly.

Hermione shrugged, "The hint could have been written in a tiny font. And it was pretty dark… the torchlight wasn't enough."

Blaise was quick to agree, thumb pointing at the curly witch, "What she said."

Neville asked, smirking, "What was the hint again?"

"Optionated Hat."

"Are we looking for a hat stitched 990AD?" Hermione went immediately through the known hints.

Draco picked up on her reasoning, "What's so important about Scotland's milliners?"

"Professor McGonagall's favourite hatter?"

Harry added his two knuckles, but before they could discuss further, Gnarluk barked his next command, "Follow!"

As a salute, Blaise and Theo flipped him the finger behind the goblin's back.

-oOo-

They ran from the fourth floor back to the unfenced half of the atrium on the ground level. A large seat was attached to two bouncing ropes, leaving nothing to the imagination.

"Shit, who's into a catapult ride?" Ron arrived at the first, raking a hand through his sweaty forehead, "Tracey?"

"The other has to cut the rope with the axe." Theo concluded, "In theory, Ron can slice this shit with one swing."

"In reality also, Theo." That last one rubbed against Ron's feathers.

"I'm not so fond of heights," Tracey spoke in a mousy tone. Being catapulted into the air as a bridge too far for her comfort zone.

Neville interjected, "I'll do it. Theo are you into flying or cutting?"

"Man, I don't say no to a bungee jump on a chair, mate. Unless you want the thrill ride?"

"I'm not so fond of brooms, I'll make you fly." Uruk pushed Theo further and strapped him tightly in the seat.

Theo grasped, "Man, mind the jewels, please? I would like some mini Theo's in the future…"

"Lavender will kiss them better," Blaise suggested with an evil grin.

"Rather not."

The witch huffed, but it wasn't clear why. Pansy and Hermione exchanged a look and a half grin. Both bet on being blocked by Theo rather than offered as a gift by Blaise.

Uruk grunted, "One chance for code. Code for locker. Hint in locker."

"Hey, mate. I'll shout the code, it seems it will open the locker to unravel the hint."

Neville saluted, "Aye Aye Captain. Is your arse ready?"

"No, but do it." Theo's hands were strained from the death grip on the straps.

Without further ado, Neville swung twice with the axe.

Theo screamed his lungs out, "OH SHITTTTT! FUCK!" He kept his eyes closed from the impact, but luckily enough he opened them just in time to see a blackboard with four digits.

"NEVILLE! 5..4..9..3!"

"Repeat again, Theo!" The Slytherin was still bouncing roughly on the cords, his voice taken away by the wind.

"5…" Once again in the air. "4...9…" he reached now less high, "3!"

Pansy was already setting up the keylock, and after the releasing click, a general sigh was heard. The witch grabbed the piece of paper and read, "Quill of Acceptance."

"I've never heard of such quill..." Several frowned clueless, except for Hermione.

"According to the book History of Magic, the Quill of Acceptance writes down the name of a child when it exhibits the first signs of magic." She was quoting the passage of how a child was detected for later acceptance into Hogwarts. There was a funny story attached to that specific quill, but for now, she kept it to herself.

"Probably how Hogwarts selects their new pupils…" Draco conferred with her, thinking two steps ahead.

"Yes, I guess so."

Theo joined them, shaking from the ride, "This was fucking awesome, but the launching almost gave me a heart attack."

"Lifting off with a broom is smoother."

"Million times smoother, bro." Theo sought a hold, leaning against a nearby pillar. He was blowing out his cheeks.

"Respect, mate." Draco clapped him in the shoulder, "It takes balls."

"I'm not signing for a repeat, in case you wonder."

Much recovery time wasn't offered, the gang again in motion to the dungeons.

The piece of paper was as usual pinned on the door.

Harry read aloud, "Find the two-part clue inside the hissing pit, written on surfaces not suitable for the faintest hearts."

"It can be everything, but it doesn't involve flying." Ron shrugged.

"But it's in a pit…"

Ron conferred with Tracey, "Do you prefer to sit this one out?"

"We'll take it!" Hermione offered, _If I flew a dragon I could face whatever on the other side of the door._ "Draco?"

"Count me in…"

Wasting not a second longer, the goblin pushed the pair into entering the room, opened a hatch in the ground and told them to take the staircase.

Draco lowered first, "Bloody hell!"

"What?"

"It's too late anyway, come down, Hermione." He felt his heart in his throat and his mind filled with nasty memories of other dark times.

"What?" Dropping from the stairs, she turned around and muffled the scream rising in her throat. The fear clawed through her and twisted her gut.

The room was lined with wooden facades, barrels and nets all over the place, and resting on those objects all varieties of snakes. Thick bodied or thin as a rake, they crawled over each other or just took a nap wherever they decided.

"Where's the bloody hint?" Draco's voice was not as confident as usual. Exhaling hard, he kept an arm around the witch who held on to his neck for dear.

"They are supposed to be written somewhere, not for the faintest hearts."

"Granger, you're not thinking what I'm thinking."

"I wish I wasn't…" Hermione squeaked.

He couldn't blame her, the vision of a thick and menacing Nagini was fresh in his mind. None of these snakes looked as threatening, luckily enough, but he wasn't keen on touching them either. Yet, he guessed there was no other option left.

"Granger." She whimpered. "Hermione, look. I'll lift the bloody reptiles, you look underneath for the clues." A new whimper accompanied by a nod. He heard her whisper but couldn't make out the words, "What did you say?" A new mumble against his shoulder. She was trembling like a leaf. "Granger, I don't hear you."

"Try the thicker ones, I don't see them writing on the belly's of the thinnest."

"I need you to release me, Hermione."

She did, reluctantly. Whining at his every step, she kept close to his body.

Breathing himself some courage, Draco lifted a python carefully.

"Nothing." Her squeaky voice was barely hearable.

He set the snake gently on its place and reached out to another one. Draco attempted to restrain the trembling to a minimum so he wouldn't upset the dormant animals. Unsuccessfully.

After the fourth - feeling Hermione's hot breath in his neck the entire time - he heard her finally mumble part of their hint, "Higher churchmen."

"It's a two-part hint, one down, another to go…"

Draco moved his right foot, and Hermoine copied his pace, following precisely the same path. The warm hand on his low back was heavily distracting, and when it accidentally descended to his bum, he nearly slipped against a rope with a nasty looking cobra.

It rose half, hissed at him puffing its neck. Draco's self-preservation kicked in. The wizard remained calm, and he didn't move an inch until the snake eased back.

The sweat pearled on Draco's forehead. Skipping the offended reptile, he fiercely hoped that the required of information wasn't written on the belly.

He tried another one.

"I see it!" Hermione forgot she was at ear height and Draco cringed from her high pitch against his eardrum, "Draco, it says 'Executed by'. The whole hint is 'Executed by higher churchmen."

Hermione wanted to flee, but he restrained her by the wrist. "No running around snakes, witch." She froze, eyes wide, and this time, he had to push her forward.

Climbing the chairs never went so fast. Uruk closed the hatchet, and at the dry blow Hermione flew into Draco's arms, "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologise for."

"I was so scared." She didn't realise she was almost strangling him.

Fear was, however, not Draco's first thought. Her warm body was pressed against his frame, and the sensation was invading his every pore, intoxicating him as much as her scent. He had wrapped his arms instinctively around her waist which didn't ease his case.

Moreover, it hardened a particular part.

One that ultimately didn't escape her notice.

She released a bit of her hold on him to look straight in the eye, "Oh." Hermione wiggled her free, "I'm sorry."

"You didn't…" He cleared his throat to sound less husky, "I'm sorry. You did nothing wrong."

"Do you need a moment?"

"Later. Let's return to the group." She went before him and missed the clenched fists.

-oOo-

It was lunchtime, and the animated conversation at the table was foremostly about how adventurous all these challenges were. While some admitted to hoping for a chance themselves at some of the trials, others declined vehemently any type of opportunity for such.

Draco used the lively event to excuse himself and search for the usual men's loo. He had been shifting his pants the entire time and was happy that a certain rise of fabric went unnoticed. Certain previous moments were playing non-stop in his head.

Releasing a sigh of relief, he leaned against the wall and rubbed the front of his shorts relaxed. However, he forgot to lock the door, and he startled when it was shoved open.

"Draco?"

Hermione caught him retrieving the hand from the front of his trunks, as a teenager caught red-handed, and he blushed, "Yes?" He gulped, eyeing her cautious approach with pink cheeks.

"Do you want me to help you with that?"

"Granger…"

"I'm the cause of your discomfort."

"It's no discomfort." Draco puffed, embarrassed. "I can take care of the issue myself."

Hermione was standing now right in front of him, looking at his face from under her lashes, "I know…"

During lunch, she had been silent. Not even wasting time denying her feelings. His erection against her belly woke an arousal she hadn't felt in a while. A sensation, that if she was honest, not even Ron had been able to stir. Pondering on the whole issue, she decided that if something happened, she would enjoy it without afterthoughts. Not every decision has to have a logical explanation. Not every shagging has to lead to the altar. Sometimes, it was merely what it was, seeking physical relief. No questions asked, no strings attached.

Not after a war that left them wondering if it was all worth it.

He might have thought that the tented pants were invisible to others, but she noticed it the moment he rose from his chair and left the room. So Hermione followed him, deciding on her way that whatever happened between them would remain a one-off. Scratch the itch both sensed scraping their spirit.

Keeping his gaze fixed, she replaced his hand with her smaller one and pumped gently, "Let me help you."

"Granger…"

"Shh, let me take care of the issue for you." Her hand became less gentle, increasing the speed of movements. Bolder too, shifting from rubbing over the fabric into inside his trunks, caressing the velvety skin and feeling the girth fill her palm. Her thumb grazed the top of her finger around his shaft.

He hissed.

Draco plundered her mouth, while his hand showed her what he needed. The rhythm intensified, the grip included. Between devouring mouths and coming up for a moment, they breathed each others air, one as much affected by the feels she administered like the one who was on the receiving point of these ministrations.

"Granger, will you… can I… I want…" The jolts went straight into his spine, making it hard for him to express his need in decent words.

"Tell me, Draco..."

"Not...only...your...hand." He whispered into her mouth, grunting between his pleas.

Hermione sank through her knees, lowered his bottoms till the ankles and took a second to admire the view. Standing straight as a pole, it jerked lightly as if it had a mind of its own and knew it was being appreciated.

The hand caressed the soft skin, its ridges, and the swollen arrow-shaped head. The other occupied itself by cupping the sack, stroking the sensitive skin behind. She straightened and opened the mouth. A light nib first. Followed by a lick from bottom to top, savouring the drop of the essence at the slit.

His hands were aimless. Torn between rubbing his face, clenching into fists, or cupping the back of her head. To ask for more. Deeper. He growled and grunted, pumping his hips instinctively to feel more of her hot mouth around his hard member. Hermione followed suit and set up a harder pace, rotating her hand in synch with her lips.

When he opened his eyes, they were fixed on the sight before him. Her aroused look, her bobbing head and how much of his dick disappeared between her cheeks. Yet, it wasn't enough.

He pulled her roughly up, shifted places against the wall and kissed her heatedly. "Tell me to stop." He illustrated his need by ghosting his fingers above her mound, close to where her core was begging for more. "Tell me I can't go any further, Granger…"

"I can't…"

He shoved her own shorts down until the fabric fell by her feet. "Tell me I'm going too far…"

"If you don't fuck me in the next min-" He plunged two fingers into her core, cutting down her words. She moaned.

Pushing her knickers down her hips with anxious, aided by his eager hands, she kicked the clothes out of harm's way. He hoisted her, positioned and entered her in a swift move, taking both their breaths away. Draco paused for a minute to give her time to adjust to the intrusion. Soon, he started to rock gently against her, but Hermione was having none of it.

The heels of her feet dug in his globes, to push him deeper and faster inside her core. Mewling and trashing at every thrust. Draco used the wall to pin her before his freed hand travelled under her top and found a tight nub. Thumb and finger pinched and pulled.

Hungry for more, she wriggled until her shirt flew off, while Draco pulled the cup of her bra down and freed the bud to suck it deep into his mouth. His lips exchanged her breast for her mouth, tongue seeking hers and enticing it into the old dance.

Her fingers dug in his back. Yanked at his hair, while she begged for more and faster, deeper. His calloused thumb sought and found her clit, rubbing it frantic. Until he lost control and rutted erratically into her core. Succumbing to the madness.

"Fuck…"

She responded with a scream, exploding around him while pressing his chest harder against her breasts for friction. Writhed and jerked, blinded by a fiery light.

He consumed her moans, teeth clenching while his hips kept pumping the last spurts.

It took a while before the heartrates subdued, breaths calmed down, heads leaning against a shoulder. But the hands kept roaming over the other's body, caressing. Stroking.

"Granger…"

"Not my...last name."

"Habit, I'm sorry." He was still panting, "Hermione…"

"Don't fret about it. This is a simple scratch we needed to take care of."

"We don't have a wand…"

"No worry, I'm on a potion. I won't be giving birth to your heir. Draco, I mean it. No strings attached. This is me satisfying a need. Nothing more."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am." By then, she had untangled herself from his grip and grabbed her belongings, dressing on the go. "I hated you four days ago, I'm starting to appreciate you ever since. But, hell, don't expect a love declaration." She shoved a few wet strings away from her face, before crossing her arms on her chest, "This was nice, I don't rule out another go. But, the chance that you and I become a couple is as low as Filch marrying Professor McGonagall."

He watched her speechless. From all the women he shagged, she was the bloody first who didn't make already plans for a wedding.

"Alright, if that's how you want this to go…"

"What are you aiming at?"

"Nothing, never mind." Draco copied her unaffected stance. He could play that game too…

-oOo-

They joined the group on their way to the stairs, but the late arrival wasn't so overlooked as coveted. Foremostly, Pansy shot a worried look at Draco's demeanour. He caught it but gave her a quick shake of the head to prevent any comment.

The second level where they were headed had a second level atrium, with wooden floor and two widen gaps giving a sight onto the atrium below. Through one of them, the group watched the three tigers pacing lazy around.

"Better never fall in that pit, I guess. They'll devour you in a heartbeat." Ron remarked needlessly.

"Let's check out your statements' accuracy. I know a perfect candidate." Blaise rolled his shoulders with a nasty grin. Not one soul doubted who he had in mind.

"Mate, do whatever you want, as long as I'm not a witness." Theo turned around to the other circle to see a metallic construction hanging above the tiger-free zone of the centre. "Holy Salazar's saggy tits."

Uruk handed over a sheet to the nearest person, Neville, "Someone has to be strapped into this Fort Bell. We'll pull on the rope to make it swing. The clue hangs on a wire and can only be retrieved once the bell is horizontal enough to grab it."

"I suggest one of the women flies while we men pull on that rope. Tracey or Pansy, who's up?"

Pansy took a few deep breaths, "I'm in. Tracey isn't keen on heights…"

"We had already snakes, what are the odds of a second challenge like Hermione's?" The other Slytherin witch reasoned, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Knowing that sitting this one out would mean having to take the next one was compulsory. There was no room to wiggle away from a nasty challenge anymore.

Walking over a temporary plank, Pansy was strapped into the centre of the bell, "If I die, I leave all my belongings to my owl!"

"I thought you loved me!" Theo feigned hurt. "What about the ginger?"

"That's a work in progress. Drakey, be a good boy…"

"I can't promise anything."

Gnarluk gave them a sign to start pulling.

Harry pulled alone first, but comprehended that alone he wasn't even getting her a foot of the ground, "Hey chaps, I need your help."

The six wizards joined him and held tight to the cord. The swinging began. Together with Pansy's yells, "Fuck me!" The sound carried away by the wind, just like Theo's.

"This shit is too high. Get me out of here!"

"Grab the hint first!" Harry shouted using all his might to give a good pull and make her fly higher.

None of the other witches fell jealous of Pansy's challenge, mostly Hermione wasn't. Every time she saw the girl swing back, she held a hand against her lips, petrified. By the looks, so did Tracey. Lavender had more eyes to the flexing biceps at the display, the men gritting their teeth at every pull.

Hermione snarled, "Can't you for once stop ogling the boys?"

"It's quite a view, who knew pale blonds looked so hot?" The blond Gryffindor never noticed how murderous the brunette looked, who contemplated feeding the witch to the growling tigers.

"I'm almost there!" A new piercing female scream. "Yeeeessss! Woohoooo!"

The men let go of the rope, exhaling heavily from exertion. It seemed at first an easy task, after all, they were six of them and all quite fit to handle such a job. Yet, the bell mechanism turned out to be quite cumbersome to bring into movement.

Anyway, it took a while before the witch came to a halt. She hugged the first wizard she found, Ron, and held on for dear until the trembling ceased. The ginger cleared his throat a few times, blushing.

Harry stretched out his hand, "Pansy, can you give me the hint?" The tube was shoved into his hand, "Whimsical Willow."

"Harry, we know one! So does dad's car, remember?"

"Like we could forget how its branches attacked us, Ron." Hermione rolled her eyes, "Whimsical Willow, a capricious tree. Fits them all…"

"A tree attacked you?"

"Yes." Hermione gritted at the memory.

Harry and Ron answered simultaneously, "Multiple times."

The Slytherins smirked, and Ron bit off, "Hey, don't laugh. That thing shows no mercy."

Much time to ask for details wasn't awarded, as Uruk barked new orders, "Last test. Follow."

-oOo-

Back to the dungeons, two doors down from the snake pit. Hermione thought with a shiver that she would never enter that door again.

Uruk looked for two volunteers but found Ron and Tracey ready for duty. The instructions read, "Find the clue by crossing off the found words."

Ron asked to be sure, "Are there spiders or snakes inside?"

His answer was a barked, "No."

"Okay Tracey, lets deal with this shit."

Gnarluk strapped Ron to a moving chair, "You go in chambers and shout words." He pointed at Tracey, "You scratch words off here. Four minutes or word is burned."

The door was locked, and Ron rolled through the chambers, "Tracey, BANANA… BREAD… WOOD…"

"What was that last one?"

"WOOD! ...TREE...MONEY… FOTO… what the hell is a foto?"

"Never mind about meanings, what's next?"

"CAR...wait there's a word inside this glass...I have to drain this drink out first...fuck that tastes nasty...bah tastes like pee… CHICKEN...bloody hell." He spat a few times, but it wasn't enough...PEAS..."

Shortly after, he was back with her and Tracey loosened him. Pumping some blood back into his wrists he headed to the board, "Which word is left?"

"I have two left, feathers and book of admittance."

"Let us join the group, I bet Hermione and Malfoy will understand them."

-oOo-

Outside Hermione chose the book clue immediately, "It works together with the Quill of Acceptance."

"The magical quill inscribes in that book who's allowed to come to Hogwarts."

"Is it how it goes for the other Wizarding Schools?"

"Hey, Draco, how do you know all that?" Pansy interrupted the small discussion moment between the two.

"It's written in the Hogwarts book."

"You read that one?" Hermione looked at him with an incredulous look.

"I'm not illiterate, Hermione." He huffed offended. "I don't devour every tome in that library, but I've read the most important one." The Malfoy sneer reappeared.

Harry inquired curiously, "So this quill writes the name of a magical child in this book of admittance."

Hermione faced him, "Only when it shows signs of magic. I read that a few times the book shut down before the quill could write because it wasn't convinced of the child's ability. It needed more swaying before he accepted the quill's efforts."

"The ratio at Hogwarts is hundred per cent magical folk admittance, it has successfully denied entry to any squib." Draco complemented her explanation.

"All these hints are pointing out to something about wizardry, but it's yet too vague to narrow it down to one word."

"I agree."

"We too…" If the brain team didn't figure it out, leave it be if any of the others did.


	7. Meddling

**This is me crossing some T's and dotting some I's on Hermione's behaviour the last chapter. Again, Grammarly is my not-perfect companion. The next chapter is already cooking, definitely with some adventures. I promise.**

 **Enjoy the holidays!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Meddling**

"Draco, tell me what's wrong." Pansy cornered him after dinner, as the group was on their way to the pontoon. A sunset swimming party was on their schedule, a few carrying the drinks and glasses with them.

"Nothing, everything is just peachy."

"I'm not stupid, something is bothering you, and I bet it has to do with the swot." She nudged him in the arm to force him to a stop. "You two left earlier alone, at first, but returned together. None of you looked very happy, yet both sported a suspicious blush. Spill the beans, you know you can trust me."

"What do you want me to say, Pans?" He raked through his hair, visibly torn from within, "She's not who I thought she was. She's so much better than I expected."

"You are falling for her."

"Hold your hippogriffs, Pansy. I'm no Hufflepuff to fall in love in a few seconds."

"It's longer than a few seconds, Draco. I'm not an idiot." She sought to fix his gaze on her, "What happened between you two?"

"Do you want the graphical version or the short one?"

"Cheeky. Wait… what?" Her mouth fell open, "She's supposed to be a prude lion!"

"Pff, the one who launched that gossip was clearly a jealous witch. There's nothing prude about her." He kept rubbing his face on his palms. Hermione's dismissal, in the end, stabbed more than he cared to admit.

"How far did you go?"

"You should rather ask what we skipped, that list is shorter."

"Holy cow!" Pansy reeled from one surprise to another, blinking her eyes in wonder, "Okay, I see the picture. What I don't understand is what's wrong with your little encounter."

"The encounter was perfect, that's not it. It's the end that is fucking my mind." Pansy frowned, confused, "She told me flat-out it was only an itch we scratched, that we might get to repeat, but I shouldn't be looking for a deeper meaning because, _and I quote_ , the chances that she and I become a couple are as low as Filch marrying Professor McGonagall."

Pansy chuckled but recomposed herself.

"Why is it bugging you?"

"Because I get shut down without further reasons. I mean, I know we have a dark history, but hell… she keeps digging up old skeletons."

"What did she say then?"

"She said nothing. It's not about words, it's about being rejected without a decent chance at redemption. I was so fucking wrong about a ton of issues, and it fucks my mind to know I want to set it right, and yes, for fuck's sake, I want more, but she rebuffs me."

"Hey, don't lose hope. You're changing the perception of Harry and Ronald. My female guts say that whatever occurred, freaked her out and she's protecting herself from being hurt. This Draco is all new to her, she doesn't know you the way that I do. She only knows the git - pardon my English - you've shown her."

"Should I grovel? Kiss her feet and the ground she walks on? Take a seat, you might have to wait a while before hell freezes over." He pushed her roughly away but sent a silent apology right behind it.

"Something tells me that it will all be fine in the end," Pansy shoved a few blond tresses from his forehead, "Don't give up just yet." He nodded, but she kept looking at him, now with a naughty smile, "Make her see that your sex-god title isn't totally unearned."

He rolled his eyes, letting out a harsh breath, "She's the goddess."

"I'm standing right here you know?"

Draco snorted at the jealous display.

"All kidding aside, when it's the right person..."

"Who made you the queen of divination?" Slamming his arm around her shoulders, Draco headed toward the group following the sound of laughter - more Ron's barking mixed with Theo's higher pitch. "Are you going for a piece of ginger yourself?"

"Don't push it."

"I spilt my beans to you, share your secrets."

"I'm knocking my head against the wall, to readjust my current thoughts. My mother will kill me, after my father."

"I look forward to being the godfather of your ginger-haired offspring."

"Easy... or you can kiss your dream goodbye of having a blond curly heir flying on his kiddy broomstick."

"It will probably remain a dream."

"You'll eat those words!" She took the two glasses over from Tracey, offering one to him, "Let us toast to our merging with the Gryffindorks."

"Pray to Salazar for some patience."

Harry added, "Hope that your lions aren't hungry for a good snakehead. Their teeth are sharp as hell," ticking their glasses with his own.

"Potter, what are you doing?"

"We can't have a snake-gathering inside a lion's den."

"Then tell your lioness to be less rough to a friendly snake."

"Friendly and snake in the same sentence?" Harry snatched the drink out of Pansy's hands and sipped, "Strange, it's not spiked."

"Ugh, gross! Saint-Potter's germs all over my drink, how dare you?"

"You prefer Ron's perhaps?"

The called-out wizard flushed, the finger drawing 'I'll kill you'-sign on his throat at his best friend. It only fueled Harry's fun.

-oOo-

In the girl's dorms, Lavender's snoring filled the room, and Tracey was murmuring in her sleep about heights, _don't push me so high. The snakes want to bite me, mum…_

In the lower bunker, Hermione didn't fall asleep, no matter how many sheep she counted nor how often she had already turned in her bed.

"Consciousness problems, little swot?"

"My soul is clear, miss viper." A loud snore from the higher bed annoyed both awaken witches, Pansy's fingers tingling to smash her pillow on the blonde's head.

"Nah, I think your mind can't stop thinking about a young attractive blond wizard, who's willing amend things, though the witch in question cuts him off."

"Has he gone crying on your lap, asking for a pat on his head, the poor boy?"

Pansy looked sternly down, "I told you not to hurt my boy. I've asked you to keep an open mind, remember?"

"I am, otherwise I…"

Pansy jumped out of her bed, waving at Hermione, "Let's go for a walk, we can't talk here."

Rolled in their blankets, the women sought a way to the pontoon, too lazy to walk all up to the top and watch the night from the rooftop.

"I think I'll miss the briny smell of the sea." The ocean was lazily lapping at the stone walls. Pansy chose a place near the edge, sitting in a Buddha pose.

"Yes, it's refreshing." Hermione tightened the blanket around her, the cold breeze was a tad too icy for her taste.

They remained silent for a few minutes, eyes on the moonlight shining on the water surface.

"Draco didn't gossip to me like one of those bints at Hogwarts. I couldn't, however, ignore something was eating him from the inside. So, I pushed the buttons as I'm used to."

"You know then what happened."

"Do you want the graphical version or the shortcutted one?"

"Geez, and they speak about women…"

"I'll give you the graphical, to meet your request, my dear. You blew him away. I don't know if you sucked his dick dry or used your magical vagina and fucked his brains out. Pardon me for my blunt English, but this is who I can be. Brutally honest." Pansy tucked her hair behind he ear, a sign to those who know her, that she's nervous. "The fact is you cut him off, afterwards, claiming it to be an itch with no possibility to grow into something more."

"I don't want him to hurt me. He's done a perfect job in the past. I don't trust him."

"Who he used to be before the war and who he's now, are two different people. Woman, that man saw things I don't wish to my worse enemy. Suffered at the hands of people who should protect you in the first place, not throw you in the fire pit as the sacrificial lamb." Hermione wanted to retort, but Pansy held up a hand to stop her, "I'm not talking his behaviour well, he did and said things that weren't friendly. Fuck, even I did it."

To calm her temper down, the dark-haired drew a deep breath, "I'm not proud of my actions and compared to Draco's they look innocent as fuck. But, I know that he's trying to mend. You say you don't trust him. That's bullshit. Each of these tests, you've trusted him to help you till the end. You didn't doubt that he would let you fall." Calming her nerves was apparently not a success. Much against her will.

"You can't compare my trust in his abilities to my trust in his mindset."

"The man has been harbouring a crush on you for years, witch. You broke his nose, and he fell head over heels for you. At Yule ball, I was next to him just along for the ride. I was fucking jealous of you, that night. I confess. You snagged the celebrity, your dress was awesome, and on the top of it, my company saw green of jealousy. Of the man he was worshipping before that dance!"

Hermione huffed, "Yule ball… don't remind me."

"Of what? Being the queen of the night with Krum at your side?"

"Ron asked me because _I'm a girl…_ "

"Huh?"

"He asked me to the ball as a last resort, _you're a girl_. It took him bloody four years to discern _that_ , the tosser."

"Was that why you were crying at the stairs? We made a bet at the common room, but it seems no one assessed it correctly..."

"First, he complained that Viktor was too old for me and was using me, and afterwards he told Harry that girls get scarier when we get older."

"I would have punched him in the face!" Pansy was angry in her place.

"I sent him to bed."

Pansy roared, "Like a naughty boy who needs punishment. Girl, you're really something!" She bent half, laughing. "Hi Hi."

The laughter died on Hermione's face, when the subject of their conversation returned to her mind, "Draco…"

"Scares the shit out of you, yet, you can't deny that there's something brewing, can you?"

"He called me a mudblood, made me feel lower than dirt. How am I supposed to forget all that? A shag against a wall doesn't wipe years of distrust."

"True, but if you cut him off before he can apologise decently and show you how much he changed, you'll never move on either. Tell me, was this one of the many meaningless shags you had?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione knew very well what she meant, but tried to evade accepting the truth.

"I'm not so bright like you but I'm not an imbecile like blond barbie downstairs. You have a shag that felt good but doesn't beg for more, and you have the shag of shags, the one that goes straight to your core and craves after an encore. Specify the Draco episode. Under which category does it qualify?"

Hermione hid her face in her hands. It was easy to dismiss a fact as a blip on the radar, while in reality, it was not insignificant. He wasn't a John Doe, another number on her book of conquests.

"Your silence speaks louder than you think. I bet Draco woke up feelings you're not open to exploring. I bet that if he were someone else, you would want to grab the chance and investigate what this is all about. It scared you. It scared the shit out of you like it's scaring me to admit that the ginger downstairs might be invading my life."

"The ginger downstairs never wished your death."

"Neither would the young adult nowadays. You've heard the kid that was barely dry behind his ears." She inched closer to Hermione, "I even dare to say, he feels guilty for not protecting you at a precise moment."

"It wasn't him who held the wand against me. He would have died."

"The fact doesn't ease the guilty feeling." Pansy grabbed her hand for a squeeze, "Don't shut him out. Man up, and allow him to show who he is. Maybe, he's your missing puzzle."

"What if he hurts me?"

"What if your ginger breaks my heart?"

"Leap of faith?"

"We are women, goddammit. We'll jump together."

-oOo-

The blond wizard behind the wall walked quickly back to his bed, registering the typical noises of someone rising to their feet and heading to the door, in this case, the large entrance. Unable to catch the sleep he had a similar thought and found them making the curve ahead of them. Curious, he remained behind, sitting on the floor, back resting against the wall.

For a moment, he wished to be able to put his hands around a certain neck for her incessant meddling. Until the questions were asked which he wanted to know the answer, the reasons behind the actions.

Pansy had judged Hermione's behaviour correctly, the witch did fear him hurting her. Deciding it was better for her to keep him at bay, than to risk harm.

You can't promise to anyone you won't hurt them along the way. One wrong word, an unintended gesture. His natural talent to rile her up would probably seal the deal, sooner than wished. He didn't have a manual of instructions lying around to guide him on the right path. He is who he is, even if it was an improved version of who he used to be.

Fates would decide.


	8. Chasing Tigers

**We are nearing the end, but it's not this chapter yet. Forgive me the few errors, as you know there's no beta helping on this story. Reviews always welcome!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Chasing Tigers**

The intensive physical tasks and their primary living conditions were starting to take a toll on all of them. The food was filling, but after five days of basic stews and simple breakfasts, which they were responsible for their own warm drinks, the hunger after a nice roast with Yorkshire pudding and gravy also nagged on their spirits.

On top, the mood of the brain team was also affected by the lack of sleep. Instead of keeping it light, the bickering influenced everyone else's spirit.

"I'm in 'a get out of my way, or I'll kill you mood', git."

"Go to hell, witch."

"I can't. Satan has issued a restraint order against me."

"I'm getting a headache from listening to both of you!" Blaise banged on the table, cutlery and glasses rattled, "Can't you two stop bitching?"

"She's the one who got up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Earth has its boundaries, but the Malfoy stupidity is endless. My bed has only one side, genius."

"Witch, did you called me stupid?"

"If the shoe fits…"

Harry intervened, "Hermione, drink a new cuppa. It's enough if you ask me…"

Gnarluk arrived at the perfect time, Draco left the breakfast room as first.

Hermione was held back by Ron and Harry, "What happened?"

"Nothing, he was just annoying me."

"Has he hurt you?" Ron ran through this morning's events, finding nothing alarming.

"No, can't you two just leave me alone?" Gritting through her teeth, she set a pace to catch up with the goblin, ending next to the object of her bad mood. Which left the wizard wondering what the hell did he do wrong at all…

-oOo-

The first test of the day was at the centre of the atrium. A long thin ladder dangled with the wind, "Hint on the top."

"Who's up to an early morning climb?"

Pansy pushed Theo aside, "I will before I commit double murder." The first steps were easy, but soon the ladder started to sway. "Hey! Can somebody ground the fucking stairs before it throws me into the tiger den?"

"Pans, don't exaggerate, tigers prefer meaty witches." Harry grabbed on to the rope, the foot on the slowest step to keep the ladder tight. It made it easier for Pansy to climb all the way up, although it still swayed. Ron lent a hand, it this case a foot.

"Hey, Weasley, don't oggle the goodies from underneath," Blaise remarked with a smirk, "Don't do like I do…"

Harry chuckled at the expense of a blushing wizard, who felt caught in action. "Harry, you're supposed to be at my side!"

"I am." He wiggled his eyebrows, "But, you've got to admit, Blaise has a point."

"I'm just helping you, Harry. Bloody hell, a wizard can't do a thing without being accused of ulterior motives." Ron pouted like a toddler.

-oOo-

"What the fuck did I do to you?"

"Can't you just leave me alone, git?" Draco cornered her away from the others, but she lacked the courage to face him, despite yesterdays talk with Pansy. Instead, she redrew into the actions of a fourteen-year-old, pushing him away and pouting the entire time.

Even if her behaviour caused Harry and the others a whiplash, clueless as they were about the reason behind these mood swings. Harry was half-and-half keeping an eye on them and couldn't imagine the motive at all.

Draco shouted back, pointing the finger at her, "Primary school called, Granger, they want their drama back. Fuck, I could have sworn I was dealing with an adult."

"Remember when I asked you for your opinion? Yeah, me neither."

"You can be such a bitch!"

"Behind every bitch, there's a man who made her that way!"

Harry and Ron kept exchanging looks, barely paying attention if the rope was tight enough for the Slytherin witch to return. Pansy returned to the floor with the tube in her hand, but it went entirely unnoticed. All eyes were focussed on the two arguing like children, one's comeback stronger than the previous.

"What the hell is wrong with Hermione?"

"I have no idea, Ron. I mean Malfoy hasn't done anything wrong in our presence."

Neville was on the verge of coming between, as Pansy shoved him lightly to the side, handing the wizard the tube along the way, "Read it, I have a job to do."

Draco was at the end of his rope, "Will you calm the fuck down?"

"Telling me to calm down works about as well as baptising a cat!"

"Will you two shut the fuck up?" Pansy set herself smack in the middle. "I'm full of this shite. We can't work like this, you both are messing with everyone's system. Quit this childish behaviour before I fucking throw both of you into the sea to calm the fuck down!"

"He started!"

"What the hell? You're the toddler!"

"You're a moron!"

Before Pansy even moved a finger, Harry held Hermione's arm by the elbow and pulled her behind him taking her far away from the group, Ron in the tail.

"Harry, release me!"

"In a minute Hermione, you and I are going to have a chat." Ron's _and me_ somewhere in the background. They walked until not one soul was in sight, "Explain to me, without getting angry why you're so moody this morning?"

"This is not a conversation I want to have with you."

"For my part, you imagine Ginny's head over mine while you talk to me. I don't care, you and I have been through enough to have boundaries. Start talking, Hermione."

"Harry, no." Knowing only too well that her attitude bordered to that of a teenager in the middle of a drama crisis, she still turned her back on him and Ron. She was spun quickly back to her original position.

"Hermione, did Draco do something against your will?"

"No."

"Did something happen between you both then?" Harry was one and all business, but Ron was getting uneasy. This kind of discussion really not his cup of tea. Hermione's silence was all the answer Harry needed.

"If it wasn't against your will, why are you reacting this way?"

"Hermione… really?" The ferret might be friendlier than before, but specific issues were still a one step too far for Ron.

"I'm not asking for your approval Ronald. In case you've missed, there's a Lavender gallivanting around, remember?" She fumed, being grilled by her best friend irked her to no end. But she caved, "I slept badly last night. Besides, Pansy gave me the talk yesterday night already."

"Give me more, Hermione. Your behaviour is quite off-character for you." He forced her to face him, hands on her upper arms. "If it wasn't against your will, I don't see why you're so angry with him."

"Pansy assured me he's different. But what if he isn't?"

"They'll never find his body," Ron stated, resolutely.

"You are rational enough to approach this with common sense. The question I ask you is, what do you want?" Harry agreed with Ron silently, but he needed to bring clarity to her spirit, "I'll tell you what I've seen until now. I see a man who has been a good partner the entire time. Not once has he spoken with his usual disdain to you; several times he was more worried about you than Ron or I. Not that we don't have confidence in your abilities, we know you can hold your own, Hermione. "

She nodded, annoyed.

"No, Hermione, don't give me that look. Remember when you hurt your shoulder? Tracey came to ask for assistance, and Draco was the first to suggest a few ideas before I had the time to." His hand under her chin brought her gaze to his, "I can't tell you if you're making a good choice or if you should run now while you still can." The dark clouds were clearing up, he thought, "None of us can. But pestering him this way isn't going to make it better either."

"Are you going to sell me the idea of a leap of faith as well?"

"I'm telling you to stop the banter, it's not funny anymore. Approach this with calm, go with the flow and see how far it gets. I'm telling you exactly what I've said to Ron, last night." A grunt behind him confirmed his statement, "You've got to admit the snakes are quite a gang to have around. Theo is a nice bloke to talk to, Blaise's never boring, Pansy without her bitchy act is endurable, and Draco is surprisingly pleasant to have around. I can see myself grabbing a beer with the man."

"Hey, what about me?"

"Ron, don't be jealous," Harry rolled his eyes, "Is Cruella de Vil gone now?" His mouth curved into a smile, "Has my Hermione return or do I really need to throw you into the sea?"

She nodded, scrunching her face, "Was I that bad?"

"You have no idea, Hermione. I was honestly happy you didn't have your wand, or his balls were roasted." He caressed her hair, like old times, "If you don't give it a try, you'll always wonder if he could be the one."

Ron feigned nausea, "Oh, Merlin."

"Ronald, zip it will you? I have two words for you: Pansy Parkinson."

Hermione chuckled, "Poor Harry."

"Yes, indeed. Poor Harry... poor me!" With his arm around her shoulders, he walked them back to the group, sending a message silently to Pansy that things were back to a certain normal.

Theo got the clue and demanded the next challenge before the rage would return.

-oOo-

They ran behind Uruk up all to the opposite side of the staircase on the second floor till a specific door. The instructions were, like old-fashion, nailed to the wall.

Neville read, "Braille code. Find the code for safe by translating the braille language in the note." The hand pointed out to a list of numbers and their corresponding braille code, plus showed five minutes. "Time limit too?"

A grunting confirmation followed, and the goblin stood next to the sand clock, waiting for the go sign.

"Who goes?"

"Me and blondie, it seems easy enough to miss empty brain's capabilities." Blaise pushed Lavender before him, and the door was locked with a big bang. The girl was completely lost, she hadn't understood a word of what Neville said.

Inside Blaise found three blinded boxes, and soon enough he suspected those to be filled with nasty residents, "I'll go first." Manning up, he dropped his hand into the opening and refrained from screaming like a girl. His guess was salamanders, three if he wasn't mistaken.

One of the lizards decided to make close acquaintance with his arm, urging the man to search quickly for the note. Which stuck under the belly of one of those little buggers. Blaise pulled his arm, the disgust was written on his face. "Four dots, like a short T that fell on his right."

Draco shouted in confirmation, "Is it like one dots in the middle and three stacked on the right?"

"Yes! Lavender, take the next box." I'm not dealing with this shit by himself, he thought. He heard murmuring from the other side of the door, it must have been a zero he found.

His female companion whined, "Can't you ask it a little nicer?"

"Woman, there's a time limit, move!"

"Alright, alright… so much sand…" her hand rummaged in the bottom, "Oh, it's ticklish… haha… little paper...where are you… Blaise it tickles, and it's like crawling up my skin… Blaise, it feels like it has feet… I'm…"

She was pulling her arm away, but he forced her to keep it there, "Don't you dare, find the damn note."

"But it's crawling up my skin, this isn't sand anymore, it feels like bugs… or ants… it's ANTS, BLAISE! I'M AFRAID OF ANTS!"

"The note, woman!"

She pulled her arm so violently away that a few of the cockroaches escaped the confinements, "BLAISE!" She jumped on his back, snaking her legs around his waist. It was the haunted room all over again.

"Witch, they are more afraid of your shrill voice! Look at them fleeting!" He dropped her unceremoniously on the floor, snatching the paper off her fist, "Draco are you there?"

"Yeah, shout it out, mate."

"It's like an L but upside down…"

Theo asked, "Is the corner of the L pointing at the right?"

"Yes!"

"We've got it, it's a four!"

He looked to the last box, and at Lavender.

"I'll give you a blowjob if you do that last box!" The girl was glued to the corner of the room, pale white.

"As if I want your mouth near my nether parts. No, thank you, I have standards." There was no room for much negotiating and gathering all the courage he still possessed, he inserted his hand and withdrew it with a yell. "Fuck. Draco, mate there are snakes in there!"

Draco spoke to the seams of the door, "I know buddy, but we need you. Your witch is useless, and no code is no hint…"

Hermione came to the door, "Are the snakes large and fat-bodied or skinny?"

"Shit, Granger, I don't know…there's more than one… the box is small, I guess skinny… slimy too…"

"They can't afford a poisonous snake in those boxes, knowing its going to be mad for the intrusion."

"Granger here is right, I guess it's from those harmless sorts, like a corn snake or so…"

"Little swot, you have experience with snakes already, want to trade?"

"Blaise, are you a man or a sissy? If I did it, so can you!"

Draco remarked, "Technically speaking I rose the damn reptile, you read the written words, remember?"

"Thank you for being specific." A little squeeze from Harry refrained her from losing her wits again. The seize-fire was brittle anyway.

"Mate, grab your balls and seek the last number." The blond wizard talked his friend some courage.

"You owe me a firewhiskey after this."

"A nice tumbler of old Ogdens, I promise."

Blaise exhaled heavily and drew the last glance at a shaking witch - she shook in fear, picturing an escaping snake inside their room. The hand descended with less determination than wished. He heard a hiss from a reptile, obviously annoyed from being pushed aside, followed by a second irritated noise. After the fifth nudge, he felt the corner of the paper and snatched it in one move.

He ran towards the door, opened with a bang and shoved the note into the first pair of hands he encountered while searching for fresh air.

Theo helped to search, "It's five dots… it's the seven."

Neville inserted the code into the locker and grabbed the hint, "It says, accomplished duelist."

"What said Pansy's hint, again?" Draco wondered.

All of a sudden everyone remembered the earlier challenge, the important detail was forgotten thanks to Hermione's bickering.

Neville found the tube in his pocket, "Skilled cook."

"A skilled cook, and an accomplished duelist, are we speaking about the same person?"

"You're describing our Harry, Hermione. He can cook and knows how to duel. Ask Malfoy."

"No thank you, the last time he unleashed a snake." She turned around, almost knocking said wizard with her ponytail. "It's not Harry, because what's the link between him and the quill of acceptance or the book of admittance?"

"He was chosen to attend Hogwarts that way?" Neville added his two knuts.

"Harry, do you know a De Mimsy-Porpington?" With her hands at her waist, it was lecturing Hermione once more.

"Not sober at least." The group chuckled, "I'm not the murderer who killed himself, and I can't, in a million years, remember which thief I might have murdered during the war."

Blaise wondered, "Really really? How big is the body count then?"

"One too many, I suppose. But I didn't keep track."

"We were not playing widi games during the war, right Harry?" Ron added. He enjoyed playing a few of those war games on Harry's telly. The lack of understanding gave the ginger-head pleasure, he knew something the purebloods didn't. For once.

"Widi what exactly?" Six blank stares faced Harry, Lavender wasn't even paying attention.

"Video games, games you play on the telly. Ron is quite fond of killing a villain or two…" Harry raked through his hair, it would be quite a trouble trying to explain the concept of a video console so far away from home. "I'll show you someday."

"Do you really kill people through that telly of yours?" Theo gulped.

"And you fought for the light!" Even Pansy was disgust.

Hermione laughed, "No, it's all pretend. Mister Ron here likes to shoot his gun at will, I prefer to play adventures and collecting money with Super Mario."

"I never pegged you for a money thirsty witch," Draco retorted.

Hermione couldn't help it, "I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you…"

"Hermione, don't start again." Neville implored, "We want peace."

Uruk barked, "Lunch!"

Harry held Hermione's wrist in his hand while following the group to the dining room, "Can't you just stop? Things were relatively great again, you were cooperating."

"It's stronger than me." Everyone grunted, it was quiche again. "Oh bloody hell…"

"Who do I need to fuck to get a decent meal? We've got a ham quiche for lunch the first day, then a veggie quiche, a spinach and cream cheese quiche, yesterday was a fish quiche, which flavour is it today?" Pansy snapped.

Ron tasted, "Leek and something else…"

"Bacon." Hermione recognised one of the meat pieces. She took her plate and cutlery, "I'm eating this outside, I need some me-time."

A few showed relief, knowing it was going to be a meal without bantering. Draco refrained from comment, but his face spoke volumes.

"Potter," Pansy waited long enough until Hermione was far away, "What the hell is going on?"

"Lack of sleep."

"I also had a short night, and I'm not behaving like a bitch this morning."

"Good for us, imagine the group dealing with two bitches instead." Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Zabini, my love. If you know what's good for your health, I advise you to zip it." Pansy was not in the mood. "I thought I got through to her. Today is like our talk yesterday never happened."

"Listen, I'm not excusing her behaviour, but I think a short night, exhaustion and whatever her brain is ruminating about, is messing with her common sense. Honestly, it's giving me whiplash."

Blaise swallowed before commenting, "At least our meal is peaceful."

-oOo-

Hermione agreed with Pansy. One more quiche as she was ready to commit murder.

The sea breeze appeased her spirit. She knew she acted irrational, though she hated to hear it coming from someone else's mouth. Why she was expecting him to hurt her this much, was a mystery to her.

All their history aside, Draco gave her nowadays no reason to feel threatened. As Harry mentioned, he had protected her, telling others to save her strength for more significant challenges.

Blaise made Lavender touch the cockroaches. Draco lifted the snakes, not once asking her to do the job. It was a different man than she used to know, no snides, no more the M-word, no disdain.

Speaking of the devil, the wizard sat next to her, plate in hand, "Do you think we can have an adult conversation?"

"Malfoy."

"You were the one who made clear that it was a one-time thing. You've established that we have no chance at a possible future. Not me, you. That's why I don't get it why you're so angry," He stabbed his food around, sharing internally the overall opinion that the quiches were coming out of his ears, "You're behaving like one of those witches I have ditched after a fumble in a cupboard. Almost clawing my eyes out. What did I do?"

"I think I biting off more than I can chew."

"Explain."

"I'm expecting a sneer at every corner. Waiting for the moment when you'll snap and hurt me, just like old times."

"That boy learned some tough lessons, Hermione." He was chewing saw by the taste. On impulse the contents on the plate dove in the water, with a flick of his wrist. "Fuck this shit."

The gesture made her smile and copy the moves, "I hate quiches too..."

"Granger, I can't undo many of the things I regret. I can only move forward and ask for forgiveness, we've spoken about this before. However, moving forward will be nearly impossible if you expect me to fall into old habits." He pulled her chin towards him, "Can I promise I won't push your buttons? No. Can I vouch that I will not hurt you? No, but know it will not be intentional. I don't have it in me to cause you deliberately pain. I only ask for a real chance."

"Why?" It came out whispering, eyes downcast.

Draco forced her to stare at him, "Because not even Pansy got this deep under my skin, and I've shagged her more than once. Because I think this is only our beginning, not the end. I want to know what this could lead us to. Is it a temporary blip in our lives, until the scratch has been satisfied? Or is there more for us in store, the origin of something worth fighting for?"

"What will your parents say?"

"We deal with that hurdle when it's time." The thumb was rubbing in hypnotic circles. Unaware, she leaned into his hand, closing her eyes before they gave too much away. In return, his forehead touched hers, shutting his own eyelids, "Can you give me the benefit of the doubt? Please?" A fleeting touch of lips, hesitant. A second, longer than the first, questioning. The third was answered by departing lips, conceding entrance. Uncertain.

Either way, he took whatever she gave. Savouring her taste on his tongue, hand cradling her cheek, consuming her little moans. It was a fragile truce. One which gave him hope.

They broke apart with a last short peck, "Do I have the swot back or is it still bitchy Granger in there?"

"You to wonder, me to know." A corner of her mouth rose, cheekily.

Draco took her plate, rose to his feet and offered her a hand, pulling her up swiftly, "Call me a moron once more, and I'll feed you to the sharks myself."

"Is that a challenge?"

The threatening look had something of mocking "You should know better than to defy me."

"Wait, let me show you my face of fear," She wished she could make one of those shiny stars appear on her teeth, like a true Colgate commercial.

Scrutinising her, he swatted her bum, "Let's join the group before they think you murdered me."

"It feels nice to know you consider me your superior." The little chin jerk was the cherry on the pie, hopping away in a true Luna display. Missing totally the heated look he gave her, promising nothing suitable for children's eyes if Pansy read it right from where she was hiding.

She had been eavesdropping, failing at understanding their conversation. However, the body language and the tone of voice indicated nothing which alarmed her. If nothing, it was as if the two had been able to find consensus. When they kissed, she honestly felt an intruder during that intimate moment.

One more day to help cement the start of something beautiful. She would demand the role of godmother of their firstborn, in return. Hell, to the one screwing this up. She would skin the wizard alive, with bare hands.

-oOo-

Everyone felt relief, but no one said a word. Afraid to unleash the return of evil-Hermione. Instead, they all acted as if nothing happened, like it was previously agreed. Blaise kept a close eye on the blond Barbie, in case Lavender would have a smart epiphany.

Following the barked orders of Uruk, they headed to the opposite side of the fort, using an exit they didn't know yet. "Wall climb, hint on top."

Theo jumped on the occasion, "I always wanted to do this at Hogwarts!"

The others allowed him his little pleasure.

Neville was roped in as the grounding partner, the one who would keep the rope tight while the other climbed with the help of the stone grips. It wasn't strange to anyone that these two wizards had become an oiled machine. Neville tugged at the rope in time, Theo displayed quite an agility that made Ron slightly jealous.

"Each their own talents, Ronald." Hermione read him like an open book. "Relax."

He shrugged, hoping for a decent task for him and Tracey. The witch didn't take her eyes of Neville, the flexing biceps demanded her whole attention by the look of it.

"Trace, you're too obvious sister."

"He's so cute and good looking..."

"Oh boy, someone is obviously in love." The Slytherin reacted as if she was bitten by an insect, but Pansy smirked, "You could have done worse, don't worry."

A shared gasp rose, Theo lost almost the grip, three quarters up the wall. Neville tensed to keep his rope taut, jaw clenched. The Slytherin bangled in the air, one hand holding for dear, feet seeking purchase. The first attempt missed, the second alas also a failure, the girls pressing the fingers against their lips in horror. The men looked for a hidden path to help the mate in need. But the third try caught a grip.

The grunts from above to pull his body into safety could be heard downstairs. Theo closed his eyes for two seconds, sweat dripping down his face. It had been a close call, even if Neville had been able to block his fall. Grabbing his courage, he stretched the arm to the next grip and resumed his earlier pace. He guessed four or five more before reaching the top.

Neville barely dared to breathe decently, his body ready to deal with a new close call.

Blaise approached him slowly, "Is there any way I can help?" By the looks, it was not possible, but he admired the endurance of the Gryffindor, recognising a man you could build upon.

"No, this is a one-man game, unfortunately. Thank you, mate." Neville barely looked to the tanned wizard. He exhaled loudly when Theo reached the top. The dark-haired Slytherin swayed with the tube over the edge, relieved smile around his lips.

"I must have aged ten years in ten seconds," Hermione spoke aloud, "Holy shit." Anxious to find out about the new hint, they ran to the atrium and waited for the arrival of their friend. The wizard man-hugged his partner, patting heavily on his back, "Thank you, mate!"

"Well, we're a team right?" Neville still felt embarrassed at open appraisal.

Theo read the hint, "Notable for intelligence."

"Hermione Granger!" Blaise shouted.

The witch smiled wide.

-oOo-

The group didn't get much breathing room, chasing the grunting Uruk towards the opposite side, arriving shortly after at the well-known pontoon. The goblin pointed out to a platform floating at a distance, "Two pull rope. Hint at the end."

Pansy saluted behind Draco's back, "Yes, chief!"

The blond look at his Gryffindor partner, "Up to it?"

Tracey intervened, "Do you mind if it's Ron and me, Draco?"

Hermione shook her head before the wizard could answer, "Be my guest, we'll take the next one."

Using the small boat at their left side, Ron rowed to the platform and helped Tracey onto it like a true gentleman. In return, he used her offered arm as a balance to find grounding on the moving platform.

Pansy nodded appreciatively from where she stood. Hermione leaned closer and spoke softly, "Give him some time, he can be a nice bloke from time to time."

The Slytherin sighed, "There is work to be done."

"Since when have you walked away from a challenge?" The witches traded looks.

"Since when do you know me so well?" Pansy gave her a sneer covered with good mood. She had already decided to accept this witch as her friend. Their beliefs might have been the opposite before the war, but the woman in front of her was cut from the same wood. Fiercely loyal to those she loved. Something Pansy appreciated tremendously, and if this fortress had taught her anything these past few days, it was that she liked the spirit of the brunette.

Once more the wish burnt heavily in her heart, that her best friend could build a future with this curly-haired. He wouldn't find a suitable wife elsewhere.

"Bah," Hermione shrugged, "I have my moments."

"You'll have less work on your wizard."

"Smart arse."

"Wrong darling. It's a _sexy arse_." Pansy winked. The entire time she kept a look at the wizard on the platform, pulling hard on the long and heavily weighted ropes. Neville's strained muscles had been more pronounced, Ron's were also visible but underneath a fluffy layer. She had work to do indeed, his manners and the amount of food he devoured. _Am I seriously considering the rat as a partner?_ Her mind didn't answer. Her heart did, and she surrendered. It was hopeless anyway.

-oOo-

Tracey tried to pull and aid Ron as much as she could, but her assistance barely made a dent. Those ropes weighed a ton, the water made them extra slippery, it was a miracle that Ron could hold stand.

In the distance, the tube sparkled in the water. Following a hunch, she dove after it, ignoring the yell from her partner, about how irrational her move was. It was deeper than first thought, in the back of her head she was grateful that Ron didn't release his grip on the rope.

Tracey came up for new air, dove deeper and grasped the tube with outstretched arms, appearing once more above water, smiling triumphantly. Ron reached out a hand and pulled her effortlessly on the platform, hugging the witch tight, "You're crazy!"

"Well, it was a moment's thought." She wove her trophy to the pontoon, watching the applause on the other side. For once, she didn't feel like the grey mouse people tended to ignore. It was great to be deservedly the centre of attention.

-oOo-

Ron read aloud, "Notorious parseltongue."

"Voldemort!" The purebloods shied away from the name, as soon as Neville suggested it.

"Potter!" Blaise added.

Hermione remarked, "Slytherin."

Pansy interjected, "Can you stop with the false accusations. None of us speaks snake tongue."

"Before you start summoning your inner bitch, I wasn't talking about you. I mean Salazar Slytherin, your House's founding father, remember?" Hermione showed her palms, to appease the temperament.

"My inner bitch doesn't play nice." The playful disdain was perfectly delivered.

Their train of thoughts was disturbed rudely by Uruk, "Stop talking. Come!"

Hermione wrung her hands as if she was strangling the goblin. Pansy broke in a peal of laughter, "I'll help you."

-oOo-

They didn't need to run far, as the last test was at the atrium. A metal buggy waited for them, at the entrance of the tiger section. Uruk pushed over the sheet with instructions into Lavenders hands. She squeaked, "Ah! I get to read one of these!"

Draco rolled his eyes, eager to snatch it and stop wasting time. He bet they had to drive that thing inside the massive tiger cage, and find whatever it was to have the hint. The gaze he stole from Hermione confirmed her assessment.

"Contestants have to p...e...d...a...l, what is that, pedal?" _Reading wasn't Lavender's forte either_ , was the general consensus.

Hermione's patience was running out, "Read further, don't waste your brain cells on this." The blond Gryffindor rolled her eyes dramatically. Hermione mumbled, "If you keep rolling enough, you might find your brain…somewhere." Pansy hid her snort behind her hand, Blaise laughed abashedly.

The mentioned witch remained oblivious as the centre of the mockings, "Alright, so you pedal around the treasure room and collect the two keys needed to open the small box. Oh, I get it! Hermione, you must retrieve the keys to open the box, there I see it!" It was like a toddler pointing out to a chest of gold. "I hope your fingers don't get bitten off!"

Harry answered before the brunette could launch a new vicious comeback, "She has experience with Crookshanks, don't worry. Malfoy, you're the pilot."

"Another smart remark, Potter?" Harry gave a half shrug. Draco admired the buggy, it was a two-seater behind each other, the front passenger obviously the pilot with a steering wheel. The pedals - a word he learned from blondie, not that he would admit it - looked an unknown mechanism, "Potter, do you recognise this from your Muggle world?"

"Yes, you pedal with your feet." Harry demonstrated with his hands, "The wheel is to steer, but I guess that's obvious."

"I got that bit myself." Draco looked at Hermione, "Up for a stroll between those unfriendly looking cats?"

"I prefer them over the snakes." Draco took place in the front, Hermione using his shoulders as support to lift her leg over the bar. Her legs snugged around his thighs, as she sat down, and she could feel his elbows digging in her flesh when he let his arms rest on the sides. One would dare to say it was slightly distracting. "I'm ready, Draco."

Draco decided to wheel himself a path between his friends, to get the hang of the buggy before daring to enter the cage. The shrieks and swears that followed a few run over toes were his satisfying bonus.

"Draco, stop," She whispered, leaning close to him was easy, "They need their toes one more day."

The hairs on his neck stood upright, her voice so close to his ear, shot arrows straight to his groin. He cleared his throat, "Right."

"Don't do it with the tigers either, please. One of those paws and our buggy topples." She was utterly unaware of her actions, speaking again in his ear while holding him by the shoulders.

"Got it." He was, however, repeating inside his head _focus, focus, focus._ Blowing out his cheeks, he headed to the entrance, waited for Uruk to open the hatch and pedalled into the area, feeling four pairs of feline eyes on him.

Between the hissing cobra's and growling overgrown cats, he didn't know what to choose. By the way Hermione was squeezing his shoulder, neither did she.

"Where's the fucking key?" His words were barely cold, or the sun fell on a golden shiny item on the floor. Next to an orange furry paw. "Aren't we lucky, Granger?"

"Search for the second, he might move away in between."

Blaise shouted from his safe place, "Offer the cat a nice pale arm to chew on! He might accept."

Lavender responded, "They eat meat!"

Draco gritted, "It's a pity I can't feed her…"

"I suspect not even _they_ would want her."

"Meat is meat. If they start with her head..." Hermione sniggered in his neck after his quick reply. A new shiver down his spine. Draco toured around, in search of the second key. It took two circles around the area to find it.

He closed in, and Hermione stretched her arm between the metal bars. To withdraw it within the same second as a growling tiger jumped on the rock next to the buggy, "Ah, fuck! Run!" She hit his shoulder to make him drive away.

"Better not, wait until he's calmed down." His heart was his throat, and they waited for a few counts, "Try again, Hermione."

Slower than slow-motion, she stretched out the arm, not withdrawing her gaze from the big tiger. Two fingers sauntered towards the golden key, reached it and pulled it gently to her, the scrapping over the rocky ground hearable. Seconds felt like hours, but in the end, she grasped it in her fist, and held her arm close to her chest, "I've got it."

At a lazy pace, Draco wheeled them away from the offended animal who now licked his paw with long strokes. He exhaled deeply just like Hermione once out of the danger zone, "Salazar's saggy left nut. That was close."

"Wow, your curse is quite graphical."

"Sorry, not sorry." He headed back to the location of the first key, still dangerously close to the paw, but the animal didn't move. Nor did he open an eye.

"Draco, can you come closer?"

"Wait a sec." He did a new turn, inching the closest he could.

From outside the cage, you could hear a pin drop. Faces between the thick bars, following every move with held breaths.

Hermione pursed her lips and repeated her earlier moves, excruciatingly slow, it was almost one move per second. She brought her whole upper body against the iron frame of the buggy. Her fingers brushed the metal.

Pressing herself almost through the bars, she retried and pulled the key to her loudly. The big cat opened an eye lazily and forced Hermione to freeze all movements. Draco held his breath too, afraid of drawing the attention to them. By the looks, it wasn't exciting enough, and the tiger closed his eye again.

This time, Hermione's fingers closed around the key, and she pulled back. To scream her lungs out, watching a paw almost graze its claws on her hand. It was one of her closest calls, "Take me out of here."

Draco didn't need to be told twice and drove the buggy at an insane pace, launching inadvertent an ambush of chasing tigers. Gnarluk was weaponed with an electrified trident, and Uruk waited for the right moment to open the hatch and let Draco through, closing it with a bang a second later.

The wizard let his head fall on the wheel while Hermione still held the key close to her chest, pale as a ghost. None of them made a movement to exit the buggy.

"Can I ride the buggy next time?" Lavender applauded, beaming of excitement. "That was so cool."

Draco seethed, "Can I kill her?"

"Take a number, line forms after me," Hermione gaze went from frightened to murderous in zero point seconds.

Harry gestured after the keys, and had to pry them off her fingers, "Hermione, the hint might burn." The resistance died.

The locker was open in no time, the tube free.

"Give it to me, Harry." Hermione extended her hand and closed her fingers around the tube. She uncorked it, read it once, showed it to Draco who smiled widely.

The suspicion solidified into a certainty.

She knew what they were searching for.


	9. Still Day Six

**Warning: contains lemons! I meant to finish the story with this chapter, however, my muse decided differently. I'll focus temporarily on this fic for now so I can round it up decently. All mistakes are my own & Grammarly. Thank you for your patience, normally the next chapter will be the epilogue.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: *Still Day Six***

"Ah, C' mon! If that smile isn't the evidence that you know the answer, then someone kick me in the arse, please." Lifting his arm impatiently, Ron's gaze hovered over the two smiling faces.

"Can I test my kicking capabilities in that case? I need to know if my leg can reach high enough." Pansy agreed with his assessment, but the opportunity to goad him was too good to let it escape. She batted her eyelashes, with a grin, "May I try, pretty please?"

For all intents and purposes, Ron steered away from her legs reach, eyeing the distance between her foot and his globes, whereas Harry smirked widely at the ginger head's uneasiness.

"Hermione, do I have to pull the words from your mouth? I agree with the ginger, share it with the peasants, if you please?" Shaking his head to the sides, Blaise inquired. "We might guess the answer to all hints all by ourselves."

Draco rolled his eyes at the condescending tone, "Mate, you're grasping at it."

" _Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus._ " Hermione's Latin accent was impeccable. "Have you guessed it?"

Theo frowned, "Is that a charm we don't know about?"

"Snape is rolling in his grave as we speak." Draco eyed his friend incredulous. "Mate, it's Hogwarts crest motto! Never tickle a sleeping dragon, duh?!" He waved a palm before his eyes.

"Why are you looking like that? Slytherin's house line is all I know by heart, 'Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness'." Pansy retorted, "So, the clue is related to Hogwarts?"

Harry reasoned, "So do all the other clues, I guess." He scratched his chin, lost in thoughts, "The optionated hat is the Sorting-"

"Sorting Hat," Tracey spoke at the same time. "The Whimsical Willow is...?"

"Isn't it the ultra unfriendly and very aggressive tree that tried to kill us with its massive branches, Harry?" Ron added. "Whose base leads secretly to the Shrieking Shack, remember?"

"Are you saying that the Whomping Willow's root base was a secret passageway to the haunted house in Hogsmeade?" Draco's question drove everyone's attention to the trio, his head spinning quickly to face Hermione.

"It wasn't haunted, people, it was where Remus Lupin hid while he transformed into his werewolf. The cries and howls were, in fact, werewolf noises." Hermione explained. "However, it's also the place where Severus was murdered by Nagini." Her voice lowered in volume, remembering the violent scene. "We saw it happen." Her gaze dropped to the floor.

Silence fell upon them. The memories reminding each one of whom they've lost, the loved ones or, in Snape's case, the respected ones. In contrast to the past where the houses would stick to one another in search of comfort, this time a hand found the nearest shoulder, regardless of who the other person might be or to which House they belonged.

If anything, these six days had shattered the walls between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Harry felt Blaise's palm on his shoulder, Pansy rubbed Ron's upper arm cautiously, unsure if he allowed her such liberties, and Draco's fingers found Hermione hand, lacing the digits tightly.

"He was my godfather." Draco gulped dry, squeezing his eyes shut, "My rock during those awful times when I had no one to turn to." The confession weighed heavy on everyone's heart.

Pansy invaded the blond's personal space to embrace him tightly, while every other Slytherin sought a way to have skin contact with their friend. "We know, Draco." Just for a few heartbeats, time stood still. Gryffindors witnessing a rare moment of bonding between the snakes. Though, when Pansy crossed looks with Hermione, the dark-haired witch made room for the curly-head.

"I regret not showing him the respect he deserved before he died. We learned too late how much he sacrificed," To everyone's surprise, Hermione wrapped her arms around the Slytherin wizard, although her next words were spoken as a whisper, close to his ear. "I'm sorry for your loss." She stalled for a second, but a confession burned in her throat, anxious to be spoken aloud. "I failed to see that you needed help too."

"I'm the last person who deserved your helping hand. The way I treated you, it's a miracle that you didn't Avada'ed me on the spot." He held her head at arms' length, both hands cradling her jaw carefully. "I expected nothing from you. How could I when I was all but an enjoyable person to you?"

Hermione closed the space in between, standing on the tip of her toes to kiss him softly. Turning the mood around right after, winking her eyebrows, "I guess you should start mending your wrongs by showing me your eternal gratitude."

"Excuse me, witch? I'm a Malfoy!" Draco gave her a scandalised once-over, ignoring the chuckling around him, "Malfoy's don't serve."

"There's a first for everything." His haughty look was retributed, accordingly. "Don't you agree, Pansy?"

"Only if it applies for lions as well, then I do agree. Or is it exclusively applied to the Green House members?" Pansy's lips twitched, while the female gazes locked in a shared understanding.

Harry turned his face away to hide his snickers behind a hand, when he heard Hermione's quipped answer, "If you add food to the equation, much can be achieved. He's low maintenance, you know?"

"I fear I can't say the same about your burden, sister. Yours is quite the opposite."

Two very distinctive huffs sounded next to both women, while the others cracked.

"This conversation is a little too pro-female to my taste," Blaise diverged the issue before one would extend the covered subject to all the wizards. "We've established that the Whimsical Willow is, in fact, the Whomping Willow; the optionated hat is a perfect alternative description to the Sorting Hat with his know-it-all attitude, but what about the other clues. Explain, for example, 990AD…"

As if it was synchronised, Draco and Hermione answered simultaneously, "Year of Hogwarts' establishment, and its location is in Scotland…"

Tracey wondered, "The Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance are…"

"Is how Hogwarts decides if a child is allowed entrance." Draco surprised Hermione the most with his further explanation, "In 'Hogwarts, a History' there have been cases where the Quill wasn't allowed to write the name of the child because the Book stubbornly denied inscription and demanded more proof of wizardry as if it wasn't convinced of the kid's talent." Hermione studied him with amazement, "What, Granger? You're not the only one who read that book from head to toe."

Harry intervened, "How many times did you read it, Malfoy?"

The confusion was readable on the blond's features, "What do you mean, how many times? How many times should one read a boring tome in his life? There are interesting facts explained on those pages, but I have better things to do than to learn that thing by heart."

Two pairs of eyes looked intently at a quarrelling brown gaze, silently proving a point. The chin rose as she riposted, "It was one of my favourite books." She sought a free spot between Neville and Tracey to sit down, "We guessed already about the notorious parselmouth, Salazar Slytherin."

Theo added, "The accomplished duelist was Godric Gryffindor, though it's also applicable to Salazar."

"Who was a skilled cook?" Pansy inquired, sitting next to Hermione and stretching her legs before her.

"I can't say if she was skilled, but Helga Hufflepuff was known for her love for cooking." Hermione shrugged.

"That's the reason why the Badgers' common room is so close to the kitchens," Draco added, "We were often jealous of how close those yellow buggers were to all the desserts… It was quite a walk to get my hands on a cauldron cake."

Neville remarked, the corner of the mouth turned up, "Not so far, if you had a connection or two in the kitchens, right Harry?"

"Which connection?" Hermione perked up.

Ron shook his head with pursed lips, "Hmm, nothing. Nothing to worry about, 'Mione."

"Hey, Weasel, you and I will have a talk later, mate. We need to know more about your connections…" Blaise beat Theo, who wanted to ask the very same thing.

"You'll not be asking the house-elves to sneak food into the dorms, Ronald Weasley." If the voice wasn't a giveaway, then the fire sparks shooting from her eyes killed any lingering doubt, together with the pointing finger.

"Who says anything about sneaking?" Once more, the ginger-head sought for a safety distance, cursing the witches surrounding him, thought the lack of wands entered his mind last-minute.

Theo murmured, "Nah… no sneaking, only smuggling, trafficking, covertly leave food behind…"

"Contraband…" Blaise breathed.

"Hermione, we survived a war, let us enjoy life, including something more tasteful than these godawful quiches." Harry eased up the air in his typical gangly way.

"It's no right to use the elves for such jobs… we can fetch our own food from the kitchens." She tried once more.

Pansy faced the other witch straight in the eye, "Your problem is us using a house-elf for the job but not necessarily the sneaking itself?" The agreeing nod met a desperate face, with pleading hands towards the sky. "I marvel at their patience. Only you could have an objection against using a creature that loves to serve!"

Ron was quick to add, "Why do you think they stopped cleaning our common room once she started with her knitted hats?"

Tracey approached Hermione, "They love to serve, Hermione. Live life a little like a Slytherin, it can be fun, you know?"

"Define live like a Slytherin…" It came from Neville, wondering how far both houses stood from each other.

"Rules exist to be broken, Neville. Or at least slightly… sneak in some butterbeer or for the gents some firewhiskey into the dorms, run through the corridors outside Filch's knowledge. Food fights… pillow fights… or smoke a blunt by the-"

"Where did you get the weed?" Ron's ears perked up, remembering the nights he spent with George and Fred hiding from his mother while smoking a rolled-up doob.

Blaise's dark gaze gleamed, "We have our sources, but I know from nothing."

"You look so angelic, Zab's, I almost believe it." Hermione's hand drew an aureola in the air, over her head.

Draco followed the conversation silently, watching over that his face remained stoic. His Manor elves may have or not brought the necessary herbs, a job that he shared with Blaise and Theo. A few of those nights ended with the inevitable shaggings wherever a dark corner was found, he remembered. Times that looked so far away, from where he stood now.

Tracey dreamed aloud, "I miss those nights we spent outside, watching the stars…"

"Getting sloshed and high from the heavy stuff Draco's elf brought…" Pansy finished, leaning into the Gryffindor witch as if she was in the knowing.

Eight pairs of eyes shifted to the blond who blushed, internally cursing his ex-girlfriend for her big mouth. Clearing this throat, he moved on, "Notable for intelligence is undeniably Rowena Ravenclaw."

"But we still have four clues we don't get…" Neville moved to stand behind Tracey, discreetly lying a hand on her shoulder, though his move was not so stealth as hoped. "That name…"

Harry added, "De Mimsy-Porpington, or your snake's clue, Hermione, 'Executed by the higher churchmen'."

"Executed…" The curly-head looked pensive around, "Draco, wasn't that what happened to the Fat Friar?"

"How much can your brain retain?" She was a walking encyclopedia, after all, he thought.

"A frightening amount of things, Malfoy. It remains scary, no matter how long you know her." Harry replied, seeking a place to rest his bum on the abandoned buggy, arms crossed at chest height.

"Well, have I reached the limits of the Malfoy memory then?" Her loop-sided grin said it all.

While the Slytherin gave the Gryffindor witch a loaded glare, Ron approached Blaise, whispering, "Do you think you can get your hands on more of that stuff?"

"I'm sure something can be arranged. What about the uptight-thing on your side?" The tanned wizard knew the answer to that question, but he was curious about the ginger's thoughts.

"Huh... I'll ask Harry for help, or maybe Malfoy over there can make a distracting move?" Ron blinked, gritting away from Blaise, "Did I just suggested this?"

A corner turned up on Blaise's mouth, "I won't tell a soul. You might be cool, after all, Weasel." The pat on the back made Ron jerk forward.

Hermione went on a pondering mode, "The Fat Friar was a clerk who was executed by the Higher Churchmen because they suspected him about a healing ability, I need the book to revive the exact reason. Helena Ravenclaw was the thief who was murdered by Bloody Baron who, on his turn, committed suicide…"

Neville mumbled, "The killer who killed himself…"

She clacked thumb and middle finger, while pointing the forefinger, "Exactly, Neville. Helena stole her mother's tiara...holy Morgana, everything falls into place now I'm sure of the answer…" Hermione stood up, pacing relentlessly around. The others followed her as if watching a game of tennis. For the first time, Draco didn't hide his admiration for her intelligence, something his best friends recognised immediately; their faces unable to hide the knowing grin. The Gryffindor witch continued, "Only the name De Mimsy-Porpington… I read his name often but…"

"Try Nearly Headless Nick." Draco's suggestion froze Hermione on the spot. Her jaw fell open.

Blaise murmured, "Somebody quick, take a picture! The swot is speechless!"

"You're smart, after all."

Her witty come-back was interrupted by a loud roar behind her. "Whoa!" The tigers had been wholly forgotten, and the four witches yelped, startled.

Tracey squeaked, "Can we go somewhere else?"

-oOo-

After cursing their dinner for the nth-time, but eating their food anyway by lack of anything else - the moaning from all of them started already upon entering the lunch room; the group decided to take their bedding and camp outside at the Atrium for their last night on the Fortress, instead of retreating into their separate dorms. The men took care of the mattresses while the witches gathered all the available pillows and blankets, creating a big circle of beds far away from the cage.

Choosing where to lie down seemed a game of duck, duck, goose. Draco sandwiched gently but determined Hermione between him and Blaise before Lavender could react, and Pansy perched herself next to the ginger head who lied down next to Harry, for similar reasons.

Fending for himself, Blaise grabbed Theo by the collar to claim the empty bed between him and the Chosen One, "Zabini, couldn't you be a little gentler?" As of last, Pansy did similar to Tracey leaving Draco and Neville to deal with the blonde Gryffindor between them. Lavender remained the only one oblivious to the entire operation, the rest grinning or sending sympathetic looks across the room.

"You don't leave me any choice than to lie down here with you…" Hermione looked sideways to Draco, murmuring her thoughts.

"I can always trade places if you so desire." He raised himself by the arms, but a firm hand pushed him back to the first spot, "Oomph." He smirked, "I thought so."

"Git."

"Swot."

"I miss the booze!" Blaise's voice interrupted their bantering. "Can we raid the lunch room and see if we can find anything drinkable aside water?"

"As long as you don't bring any quiche with you, please?" Hermione moaned, "I'll hex the person who dares to shove one under my nose!"

Theo taunted, "What if it's McGonagall?" The answer was groaning into her pillow.

The rest of the night was spent with laughter, sharing hilarious incidents in their common room, while they sipped tea - the only drink to be found in the godforsaken bunker, which on top of all, cooled off too fast to their taste. The catering was their biggest frustration about the place.

-oOo-

Eyelids got heavier, one by one succumbing to day's exhausting activities. Until only two remained awake, lying on their backs with an arm flexed behind their heads watching in silence the dark sky and its stars.

Blaise snored deeply, snuggling into Theo. Hermione looked behind her and grinned at the sight.

The shuffling from Draco's side told her he did the same, "I'm used to this. In the common room, if he fell asleep on any shoulder, he cuddled." Draco's hot breath so close to her earlobe gave her the goosebumps.

"I thought snakes were cold-blooded animals, no hearts…" She whispered back, noticing how Draco inched closer. He laid now on his side, head resting on his hand.

"We can be cold-blooded bastards, yes, but we go through fire for one of ours." His grey orbs were piercing daggers through her. The intensity was doing weird things to her breathing pattern.

"Yet, you struggled alone." It wasn't an accusation, but a simple remark.

"I pushed them away, aware of the doomed outcome. One way or the other, I expected not to survive the war, only uncertain by whose hand it would be." His left hand adventured to cross the distance and land softly on her shoulder, stroking the skin absently underneath her shirt. "It was choosing between the pest or cholera."

"Why didn't you ask for help?" She studied his gaze, searching for only-god-knew-what.

However, he didn't shift his eyes, "You wouldn't have listened, and I was too proud. Too scared. The fear of my mother's fate held me back, anticipating to be shunned away for my past behaviour. Hell, I can name a thousand other reasons, but in short, I was a coward."

The hand crawled underneath her sleeve, to touch the soft skin below the fabric, seeking a way over the shoulder blades to her collarbone, ghosting.

"If we could go back in time…" Her gaze moved to his protruding Adam's apple, that shifted as he swallowed dry.

"With the knowledge I have today? My father would have never gotten the chance to get this bloody mark on my arm, that I'm sure of." The hatred flashed shortly through his features.

"You don't consider my blood dirty?" She barely blinked from anxiety.

"You bleed red just like me, witch." He kept shifting his gaze from her eyes to her lips. "Your magic is rightfully yours, not stolen from a poor squib, and your place is within our Wizarding Community as much I belong there." Draco kept inching closer until he felt the edges of the mattress dig in his sides, the blanket pushed away as if his next move would be pulling her into his bed.

Hermione closed in also, holding tight to the corner of her blanket, "Draco…"

He leaned into her, stopping just an inch away from her soft mouth. His grey gaze asked for permission before the eyelids closed, and their lips finally met in the middle. The chaste kiss turned into an open mouth kiss, tongues sneaking out, searching for a playmate.

Totally forgetting where he was, Draco pressed her into her mattress, caving into a suppressed desire. Hermione drowned in the heated embrace, but a new snore from an unidentifiable source forced her common sense to return.

For a second, the witch pondered on what she wanted at that precise moment, but the conclusion didn't wait too long to come. Hermione broke their kiss, rose to her feet and walked away towards the dorms, glancing behind her in an open invitation.

Draco didn't need to be told twice, stopping on the way two times to devour her mouth.

The girls' dorm had one set staple beds that remained unused. Once inside the bedroom, he closed the door while Hermione divested of her shirt and bra, assisted by his eager hands to undress her short and knickers.

His eyes roamed over her body, taking in her beauty under the moonlight shining through the small window; while his hands made short work of his own shirt and bottoms. Draco came onto her in a flash, a hand scooping her jaw to tilt it in the right direction, the other pressing their hips together. His hardness was undeniably present against her belly.

"You're so beautiful." His breathed whisper was murmured between his kissing, "Hermione..." He hoisted her in his arms, laying her gently on the lower mattress. His hands spread her legs, to seek a comfortable position between them, fully intending on retributing favour from a few days ago.

Without shifting his look away from her face, his thumbs worked in tandem, rubbing outside her outer lips, before spreading them open and display the inner labia, the hooded nub begging for attention.

Her breath speeded up; this slow approach was turning into delicious torture. A circle drawn around her clit had her jerking her hips in no time. Looking smug, he repeated the move one time, then another, saving in his mind every stoking breath, each jerk and moan. His tongue nipped, lapped and sucked the abandoned nub, the fingers sliding towards her core and dipping inside her walls, at first a single digit, soon followed by a second.

The perfect collaboration between fingers and tongue, plus a pair of molten mercury eyes staring into her brown gaze had her squirming in no time; her own hands seeking her breasts to tweak her nipples the way she loved the most. His free hand joined the torture of her nipples, pinching just enough to make her moan; alternating with kneading the entire bosom.

Expertly, he rubbed a particular point inside her quim, feeling a special kind of pride as she squirted into his palm. A taste he didn't want to miss, licking the wetness from his palm before returning the fingers to the task at hand, one that almost was at full completion. The way her walls clamped around his hand, and how her clit hardened under his tongue's ministrations, made him double his efforts. She was so close…

Her mewls grew louder, legs flexing restlessly next to the wizards' head until she fell over the edge, shoulders and head jolting from the bed. In a blink of an eye, Draco lifted his mouth from her core to her lips halfway her fall, and devoured the desperate moans of pleasure; the rubbing fingers inside her pussy prolonging her bliss incessantly.

But Draco wanted to feel the rippling waves around his hard member, and he guided his cock into her hot soaked pussy, his personal well of fire. Her legs caged him inside the circle of limbs the next second, heels pressing hard against his globes. He waited for a heartbeat or two and let her adjust to his size, before setting up a lazy pace and delight in the way her pussy clenched around him, begging him to thrust deeper and harder.

However, he was a wizard who longed to savour the sheer beauty underneath his body. His thrusts were long and slow, his hands touched every available inch of skin, his ears perked at the sound of her hitching breath, the soft cries and wails; his eyes drowned in the way her skin flushed from heat and arousal, her own brown gaze unable to hide the satisfaction following her orgasm, each time they fluttered open.

Lips met, kissed and devoured one another. Teeth bit the bottom lip in turn, or the earlobe it caught, while their counterpart busied itself with lapping and biting a pink pursed areola.

He wanted their encounter to last for hours, but his body had another opinion on the matter, much like hers did. Against his will, his hips started to rut erratically; her hands shifting between his spine, kneading his taut globes or holding tight to his shoulders from sheer intoxicating arousal. Who pushed who over the edge, no one couldn't tell. But his low grunt and her soft cry rose in the air nearly simultaneously, his arms snaking around her frame to holder the tightest possible against his chest, just as her legs did to his waist.

She could hear the blood buzzing in her ears; his gaze blazed as their eyes met moments before his eyelids closed, and her mouth was requisitioned in a searing kiss. His bodyweight buried her into the mattress, yet Hermione didn't complain. In fact, her stroking hands prevented him from shifting his body to the side, her legs snaked tighter around his waist, and the now flaccid member left an emptiness behind as he slipped from her cocooning quim.

After a while, don't ask them how long as keeping time was the least of their concerns, Draco did succeed in shifting to the side, but the movement made her shiver from the cold. "Oh…" He never regretted the absence of his wand more than at that moment, powerless as he was to cast a warming charm without his wooden companion. All the blankets, even the unused ones, were upstairs with the others, and he had no other choice than to rise to his feet and pick up their clothing.

"We should get back anyway. The last thing I want is eight pairs of eyes mocking our absence in the circle, tomorrow." Hermione focussed on arranging the tank top over his chest, instead of facing him.

Draco cleared his throat, "Do you regret it?" His mind was already working on his rebuttal, in case she answered positively; his usual self-protection method to avoid the discovering of how much one could hurt him with a simple 'yes'.

"No, I took the initiative in case you forgot." Her forehead frowned and eased, while her fingers caught a piece of lint on his tank top. Her mind was too busy with assessing his tone and reconsidering where they stood after their shagging-session. She swallowed dry.

Using thumb and forefinger, he lifted her chin until her eyes met his. "I don't care what those empty-heads think of us. What I want to know is if this is a no-strings-attached or if you're open to further exploration, as we spoke this morning?"

The creases on her forehead returned, "We don't know each other that well."

"You know me at my worst. You've seen my dark side, what I'm capable of if pushed to the limit. You've seen how easily I'm deceived. However, inside this fortress, you've got a glimpse of who I am among friends, that I'm a person you can count on, can build upon. If you're willing, I can show you who I can be." He wore his heart on his sleeve. He couldn't recall if he's ever been this honest to his mother, the most important woman in his life; though the witch before him was starting to climb up in that list also.

"Will you show me this man?" They still had a long way before vows could be made, but as a starter, it counted.

Slowly, the corners of his mouth rose into a beaming smile, "Don't expect me to bow before you, I'm no Hufflepuff."

"No breakfast in bed, no roses with Valentine, or a romantic letter per owl?" She gave him her best puppy-eyes.

His answer was a simple rising of one eyebrow, more aristocratic was impossible. "Breakfast in bed is a pain in the arse with all the flying crumbs. Why should I wait to give you flowers until that bloody date and please," the next part was spoken against her lips, "I prefer to hear you scream my name while I eat your quim, instead of wasting time on a bloody love letter."

She flushed all-over.

"Let's go upstairs before we both freeze in here." He laced their fingers and walked her back to the Atrium. At their spot, he took the blanket and motioned her to lie down on his half, spooning around her body before tucking them both.

The last thing she registered before she fell asleep, was the gentle kiss on the curve of her neck and an arm wrapping itself around her waist just below her bosom while the other was underneath her neck, and a hairy leg seeking a resting place between her thighs. He was a cuddler too...


	10. Last Day

**Here it is, the last chapter. I thank those who kept poking for an ending to this story, for their endless patience. The lack of interest killed my muse for this fic by the roots. I'm sorry it took so long to finish it. All mistakes are mine & Grammarly's with one exception...Whatever Chef Willy says is deliberately written the way you'll read. Bon Appetit...or maybe not ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Last Day**

The downside of sleeping under the stars is that you wake up way too early to your taste. The majority groaned and hid their faces under the pillow, or beneath the blanket, except for two couples.

Pansy woke up with her nose pressed against the curve of a male neck, a heavy arm clearly pulling her tighter against a broad and slightly fluffy chest. Strangely enough, when she wiggled for freedom, that very arm pushed her harder against him with a groan. Needless to say that she flushed entirely, not only because it did feel good in an unexpected way, but also because it awakened a need she wasn't aware of.

A need to be cared for. The few times she fell asleep with Draco following a quick shag in his bed, she never woke up in his arms. On the contrary, selfish as he is, Draco would claim all the bedding for him.

Ron held her tight, inside his blanket - how in Salazar's name did she end up on his mattress was a mystery - but still. They were snuggling, and he made sure the corner of the blanket was tightly around her frame. Maybe the Weasel wasn't such a bad option.

That was until said wizard woke up, rubbing his scrub on the top of her head before realising he had company. In a matter of seconds, her warm cocoon vanished. Instead, the icy dawn wind covered her instantly with goosebumps due to the temperature difference. Needless to say, she nearly used her knee to make a point.

Speaking of the past, the difference couldn't be more significant between the blond wizard from the time she warmed up his bed - more a rarity than a recurrent event - and the man that held a bushy-hair witch in his arms, on the opposite side. It was of such magnitude that she couldn't avoid a pang of jealousy at the tender way Draco's arm cradled around Hermione's frame.

Luckily, the pang dissipated as quickly as it appeared. It was just a minute or so ago that the Weasel held her similarly - the wizard now sporting a complexion so red that almost rivalled the colour of his hair. Despite his awkwardness, his eyes couldn't hide a trace that quite didn't match his embarrassment. As if also he figured out that waking up this way, wasn't so bad as first thought.

Internally, Pansy shrugged. They still had their 8th year ahead to decide what to do with these feelings, it wasn't as if their stay here was equal to signing a marriage contract, after all.

Ron ended up waking up Harry with his startled way of escaping Pansy's cuddle. But both wizards fell speechless, watching how Hermione snuggled deeper into Draco's embrace, clearly sharing his mattress. Silently, they reached an agreement to let it follow its own natural course and not interfere with their best friends' choice. One shrugged and returned his face to the crease in the pillow. The other gulped, stared at the dark-haired witch next to him, cleared his throat and announced, "I'm going to the loo."

Not a romantic declaration and nor the kind of information Pansy needed to know either. Much work to be done under the category 'grooming', she thought.

-oOo-

The plan was to keep their escapade low-profile and explore whatever this was at their own pace far away from inquiring gazes.

Hermione discovered soon that to achieve such, one should not share a wizards bed in public. Pansy, Ron and Harry kept it calm, glancing once or twice and nodding. Theo, Neville and Tracey didn't even acknowledge the issue. But Blaise, however, kept glancing the entire time lewdly up to the point that Draco planned revenge as soon as his wand returned to his possession.

"I'm hungry." The blond announced as soon as their camping site was cleared up and all the bedding had returned to its original place.

"Heavy night, perhaps?" The double-entendre was hard to miss. "Too much physical exertion yesterday evening?"

"I understand you're jealousy, mate. There's nothing better than to wake up next to a charming witch." The clap on Blaise's shoulder was less soft than the tanned wizard hoped for, but it did nothing to stop his poking at the bear, or to be precise, his poking at a snake.

Hermione was more devious in her retribution. She wasted no energy on answering or huffing at another jab. _Accidentally_ , she spilt some hot water for the tea over Blaise's hand; only, instead of the usual excuse, he stared at a pair of wiggling eyebrows. The man hissed but refrained from comment. For the moment, at least.

"Look, Grumpy and Humpy are on their way," Theo warned everyone of Gnarluk and Uruk's approach.

You would think that after six days, the Goblins' duo was going to be a little more relaxed, but nothing was less accurate. The paper in Uruk's hand was handed over to Neville, under the barked instructions to read. Harry saluted ironically.

"It seems we all need to do the same proof to determine our place on the final challenge. The couple with the slowest time will have another task than the rest of us."

"Summarised, we are up against each other?" Blaise feared already to end up with the shortest straw.

"We know the answer, whatever it is, I'm sure it won't be so bad." Harry, always the pacifier.

"Show us the way, the faster we're done, the quicker we can return to familiar grounds." Hermione voiced the overall opinion. Though she didn't know what she would do first, take a nice soaking bath or devour anything that didn't look like a quiche.

The two goblins took off at a fast pace and made the entire group run almost the full outline of the fortress.

"The two fuckers could have used a shortcut. We were only two doors away from this challenge, the tossers." Theo didn't hold back, puffing heavily.

"Next time, call them by their real names, it might help." Lavender's jab was well received for once, expect by the addressed wizard.

Uruk growled and pointed brutally to the page. Tracey rolled her eyes at the lack of manners, and read aloud, "Chess Willy Rovelli."

Hermione whispered, reading over the Slytherin's shoulder, "It's _Chez_ , meaning "With Willy Rovelli".

Tracey's mouth formed an 'O', "Oops, so With Willy Rovelli. We must enter together and have to eat a speciality from this chef. The pair who ends last will get a different task. Enjoy your meal!"

Ron perked up, "Nice, food!" Thinking this was a proof tailor-made for him, he entered the room and took the first bar stool on the further end. The counter accommodated ten seats and staring at them, a middle-aged man dressed in a white chef jacket plus matching hat, strands of black and white hair peeking from underneath. From afar, he looked like a true Frenchman, including the groomed upward curled moustache.

"Bienvenue! Welcome! Please choose your seat par pairre." Tracey took the bar stool next to Ron's, and shortly, everyone had their place facing the French cook. "You will taste my newest _crreation_ …" The man's English bore a massive French twist. "It is not yourr orrdinarry meal, but something verry exquuiisite… To enterr the last challange, you'll have to finish your plat and the pairr that ends last will participate in the challange but on anotherr _position_."

Neville demanded confirmation, "So, even if we don't like we have to eat it anyway, or we don't get to participate, and your position on the challenge is determined by how fast you finish your plate?"

"Oui, yes, monsieur." The smile on the cooks face promised nothing good, but the group was left with no choice. Ten plates were set harshly in front of each student. " _Savourez un plat duet de pattes de poulet frits et testicles de coq bouillies acompagnés par un jus de surströmming,_ " The man changed into his English-French speech, "A duet dish of frried chicken paws and rroosterr testicles accompanied by a sauce of Surrstrrömming which is ferrmented herrring. _Bon Appetit_!"

On colourful plates two paws, two small beige balls and a small glass of dark greyish water that smelled so repugnant that the majority of the Hogwarts group pinched their noses almost immediately before their stomach returned this mornings breakfast to the mouth.

"I've never smelled something so horrid in my life!" Pansy whined between the gagging. "Fuck, I can't eat this!"

Hermione hid her nose under the collar of her shirt, "You'll have to, otherwise no finale…" Her problem wasn't the nasty looking drink, but the small testicles which seemed to have the same structure as goose liver. If there was one thing she detested to eat, that was foie gras.

Ron shrugged, grabbed the glass and downed the glass, "Ad Fundum!" He coughed and spit the last of its taste, "Bloody hell! Fuck, it's pure acid!"

Harry followed suit, including the adverse reactions, "Fuck, that's sour. Ah shit, can I have some water?"

The cook shook his head, "First the rest of your plate, _monsieur_."

If the Gryffindors did it - Neville's "Down the hatch" barely a whisper before the gagging started, but his glass was cleared - the snake wizards had no other choice than to show they were man enough to handle the case at hand.

The collective "Bottoms up" sounded more like a curse, but seven glasses were set down nearly in synch - all the Slytherins and remaining Gryffindors. Also synchronised, the gagging and the extended tongues " _Bahhh. Awk. Fuck._ "

"I'll chew on these thinking I'm eating Voldemort's bullocks in front of his noseless face." Harry picked one of the testicles, analysed them up close while he pressed his lips together, revolted for a fraction of a second before opening his mouth, "Gawd, this is disgusting." He shoved quickly the second before his courage left.

Harry's squinted face was no good foreboding, neither was how his arms clutched to his stomach to quiet down the contractions. Sweat pearls shined on his forehead. Lavender' and Tracey's bottom lip quivered at the prospect, tears trailing down their face.

"I can't do this…" Tracey squeaked.

"Neither can I…" Lavender squealed, biting her lip.

"I'll start with the fried paws." Pansy drew a deep breath, grabbed a foot and munched on it, "It's crunchy...and sinewy," She chewed and pulled hard with her teeth the wrinkled skin from the tendons, swallowing half bitten pieces to avoid the unsavoury taste. "Hermione, girls, it looks worse than it tastes." She scrunched her face, unable to prevent the cracking sounds while biting through tough chunks, although both paws disappeared surprisingly quickly. In fact, faster than Harry with the testicles, the wizard looking an odd shade of green by now still eating on his load.

Encouraged by Pansy's details, everyone grabbed the paws nearly simultaneously and devoured them, noses turned up while chewing.

A relieved spectacled Gryffindor wizard finished the last of his distasteful delicacies and continued more relaxed on the poultry feet, but for the others, the ugly task remained.

Blaise took the shortcut, throwing a ball at the time and swallowing it in one piece. The first went smooth, but the second remained stuck half his throat, and he felt it return into his mouth. Gathering all his courage, he forced the food down and leapt outside, picking a bucket to empty his stomach.

By the looks, it was an ordinary course of events for this specific test, and the fact that there were three buckets at hand proved it.

Theo appeared in a flash, using the bucket similarly, just as Pansy did. "I ate bullocks!"

Ron munched and shrugged, "Not my favourite." His stomach seemed to be stronger than all the rest.

Only Tracey and Hermione remained behind, looking the greyer as time went by.

Draco returned into the room, drying his lips on the pillowy side of his hand, "Granger, you can do this, witch. I promise you a nice bottle of water to wash out the taste. Tracey, c' mon, dare to defy your spirit."

"You have water by the hand?" The closeness of the lunchroom had come in handy when he spurted after something to drink. He added testicles to the _never again_ -food list, as he grabbed a few bottles; not enough for single use, but he counted on Longbottom to do the honours for his Slytherin witch.

"You'll have to share my bottle, witch." The dismissing hand told him she gave no knut about that particular issue. "You're strong, grab your Gryffindor courage. Swallow it in one piece, so you don't have to feel the structure against the tongue." His hand was rubbing hypnotically up and down her spine, "Don't you want to partake with me in the big finale? You worked so hard for it."

His encouraging words achieved their goal, her ambition did the rest. Taking both testicles in her palm, she shoved them into her mouth, chewing with a hand against her lips to hold back the urge to gag. It took her three attempts at swallowing before she succeeded, grasping the open bottle of water and downing more than half of its content in one go, spilling some through the corners of her mouth.

Tracey whined, "I can't do this…"

But thanks to Neville and Ron's support she did dispatch her plate, expelling her guts into the bucket just in time.

"Parfait, you did amazing. Does any of you want seconds?" If looks could kill, the poor chef would be dead on the spot. Hermione contemplated to throw her empty bottle at the man's head, but a pale hand held her arm in place. The grip even tightened up when she put a fight.

Uruk announced with the rarest grin, "Lunch?"

Shortly said, the goblin should kiss his lucky arse for the lack of wands. In particular, the witches looked the most murderous among the group.

-oOo-

"Bloody hell." Ron stuck his tongue out.

Harry cursed, "Fucking goblins."

"I never thought that I would say this, but I prefer quiches," Neville commented, resting against the stone wall but looked surprised as Hermione followed with a threat.

"I'm close to committing murder."

They all stood outside the fortress, rinsing their mouths with copious amounts of water and spitting them in the ocean.

"One last challenge to get whatever we need to bring home, and we're gone." Theo rationalised. Their torture was almost ending.

"If we don't get a banquet at Hogwarts, I'll throw a fit." Pansy flushed once more.

"If that's the case, we invade the Three Broomsticks," Harry suggested from his place at the edge of the pontoon.

"I'm in!" For once the rest answered in unison. Followed by several food desires, "Butterbeer."

"Roast and gravy."

"Treacle Tart."

"Stop people, you're torturing me!" It wasn't often that Hermione whined, the rest roaring in laughter.

-oOo-

The grunting goblins were ignored at first and made to wait for what felt longer than half an hour before the Hogwarts team joined them for the final challenge. As retaliation, Uruk forced them the long way around through the second floor to reach the entrance of the tiger cage, on the ground level.

Needless to say that the goblins' arses would have been jinxed to Timbuktu, once again, if wands were at hand - that is between the heavy puffing and leaning on the knees to gather their breath.

The treasure area with its iron bars was, in fact, more prominent than first thought; a sort birdcage in thick rusty metal bars stood on a stone basis, while the centre of the solid floor was carved in letters. Apparently, they had only seen a fraction of it, during Hermione and Draco's buggy proof.

As usual, a growling Gnarluk pointed to the page, Blaise taking the honours to explain. "We have to form the answer to our challenge by standing on the exact letter tile. If we are correct..." He gave the rest a _duh-_ look. "The gong will sound, and our prize will appear in the centre of the well, but we have only twenty seconds to leave the cage. If the time runs out, the tigers will join us."

"We become tiger food?" Lavender asked everyone's question, "Is this approved by McGonagall?"

Hermione reasoned, "I guess she trusts us to escape in time." Not that it erased the fear in the faces of Pansy, Tracey and, surprisingly enough, Theo.

"The couple that lost the previous proof has a separate task. One has to guide us to the right tile, the other will turn the bronze tiger head when we are in the right position. It seems the letters aren't in alphabetical order." All the heads pressed between the bars to confirm the statement. "We have less than one minute to be in place."

"Fuck their time restraints," Draco swore. "Let us divide the letters between us so we can be efficient. I'll take the O, Hermione, you take your own letter H."

Harry requested, hand in the air, "The G from Ginny!"

Pansy was quick to reserve, "The W!" Punching her tanned friend in the shoulder for his lewd gaze. Ron blushed with curled lips.

"I want my T." Theo beat Blaise by seconds, who planned to steal his friend's letter but settled for the S instead.

"I'll take the A, Lavender, you have the R." The blonde witch nodded at Neville's comment.

Ron noticed a plan next to the mechanism to open the gate, "Wait! Hermione, your letter is on C3…" The letters were jammed indeed. Using his chess tactic, Ron deciphered the quickest way to guide everyone through, "Malfoy, your O is on D3, Harry, you'll find G on C1, Pansy for your W its C8, Neville A is on D6; Lavender, R is on A7, Theo, you're on F6 and Blaise, you have to stand on D8."

Harry and Hermione had a smile tugged on their lips, Ron was a pleasure to watch, entirely at ease within his love for chess. The Slytherins blinked at the display, _who knew that the ginger-head was such a master in strategy?_

Instead of the usual disdain, Draco addressed Ron with respect, "Good catch, Weasley."

Hermione blinked surprised. One, he called Ron by his family name decently, plus he added an appraisal towards her friend? _These are days of wonders and miracles,_ she thought.

Dumbfounded, Ron shook his head to make sure he wasn't in a different dimension, cleared his throat and asked, "Are we ready?"

Lavender's arm went up, "Which was my place?"

The wizard peeked the map again and repeated, "A 7."

"I don't see numbers on the floor…" She overlooked the floor once more, pouting.

"Never mind, I'll talk you through it." _Man...why did I ever…_ "Are we ready?"

"Yes!" Unisono yell.

Pushing hard on the wheel, Ron lifted the massive gate until it was blocked by the mechanism, and everyone crawled underneath from the moment it was high enough to do so. Running down the few stairs, they leapt counting rows and columns until they found their place. Hermione and Draco stood next to each other, with Harry two stones ahead of his best friend. Only Lavender was wondering around, mumbling the lack of numbers and letters on the side.

Ron shouted, "Lav, go to the far left."

"Your left or my left?" Groans floated in the air.

Ron commanded, "Look at the well… now walk to your left and retreat two stones."

"Ah… Why didn't you tell me first row, the furthest to the left and its first stone?" An offended Lavender riposted.

Ron gritted, "Tracey, turn the tiger's head." The Slytherin witch saluted and puffed turning the rusty head.

A minute or two of complete silence fell upon the treasure room, everyone holding their breaths. A pale hand sought a companion, feeling his fingers laced in seconds.

Pansy felt Ron's hot breath on her neck, and she stretched the arm behind, smiling as he caught her hand. It was the begin of something, what exactly? Time would tell.

After what seemed to be an eternity later, a cloth was removed, and the Hogwarts crest appeared in its full glory.

"So cheesy!" The mocking wasn't exclusively Slytherin, mouths falling open sardonically.

Even Neville commented, "Lame, Professor McGonagall!"

Behind them, the metal gate started to descend at a snail's pace, automatically, Theo alarmed, "Shit, guys! We don't have much time!"

Harry and Draco standing the closest to the metal cage in the middle, ran and pulled the shield together, extending their arms the furthest possible. The object weighed heavier than first thought and getting a grip was far from easy. Neville and Blaise climbed as good as they could up the metal bars to push the crest towards the other two wizards. But with combined efforts and grunts, the four succeeded in their intention, alas, with not much time to spare.

Blaise barely made it through, crouching almost to his knees to get out. A heartbeat later, the bang of the gate echoed through the stone walls just before the roar of the tigers was heard. "Fuck, no second too late."

Yet, the praises of congratulation were conspicuous by their absence, on the contrary, the goblins seemed sourer than ever.

-oOo-

* **Hogwarts** *

They arrived the same way as they had left, using the provided return-portkey to Hogwarts; the wards temporarily adjusted, courtesy of the Headmistress.

Neville and Theo shared the honour of carrying the crest to McGonagall's Head office, the others trailing behind as a seasoned army.

"Ah, I see my challenge has come to a positive end. You make me very proud." She clapped her hands in a familiar gesture, her former-house students smiling at the display, recognising the antics of their favourite teacher. Studying each face, Minerva encountered no animosity in the expressions. Minor exhaustion perhaps, a little ruffled from the travel, yet a glow of satisfaction in their gazes, with no exception.

What surprised her the most was how close two pairs stood - if her mind didn't play tricks on her, a pale pink was visibly brushing a tawny beige finger. Ron Weasley's closeness to Pansy Parkinson was somewhat unexpected, but it was how Draco Malfoy looked down on Hermione Granger that made Minerva blink a few times to make sure it wasn't her imagination. The older witch couldn't even decide between adoration or tenderness.

The fact was that she regretted the absence of a spy instantly, so curious she was to learn how those two not only buried the hatchet but somehow grew closer to one another. The older witch took a deep breath to resume her initial intent, "I'm sure you must be hungry. I've given the kitchen the order to prepare you a delicious meal, I believe they were making their best...quiche lorraine for you."

"No!" Ron and Neville gasped, looking horrified.

"I'm not hungry, Professor." Harry and Theo tried to be the most politely, flapping a hand in the air while Draco shook his head apologetically while biting a curse.

"With all due respect, Professor, but I can't stand the sight of quiches for at least a decade. You'll have to forgive me, but I prefer to lunch at The Three Broomsticks." Hermione tilted her chin, abstaining from a few curse words to emphasise her statement. If it was someone else, she might have added a few fucks...

But to their surprise, the Headmistress giggled as she clapped hands, "Hihi...your faces were priceless." Behind her, every painting grinned. "I knew that the Fortress of Boyard only offered quiches for lunch and dinner. Apparently, it's the only recipe the goblins know how to prepare...my poor kids."

For once, she didn't even acknowledge the ten dirty looks in her direction, "I believe there is roast beef with gravy and mashed potatoes waiting for you, followed by treacle tart." Her ears rang from the cheering that followed.

They wanted to sprint towards the Great Hall, but Hermione had one last request, "Headmistress... Professor, this eight-year are we going to be in… will we be split into Houses again?"

"That was the intention, yes." This was a question the older witch hadn't expected.

"I know there's an unused wing in this castle, meant to house couples from the times when it was customary for early set-up marriages. I read about it on 'Hogwarts, a History'." Hermione continued, head tilted in an inquiring way.

"That's correct, Miss Granger. What are you suggesting?" Everyone was one and all ears, from student to Headmistress, including the paintings.

"I'm speaking for myself at this point, but after Boyard, I would prefer to keep our group together, I believe there's room enough for the ten of us and the few others who'll join us within a week?" Hermione could hear the blood buzzing through her ears, so fast beat her heart. But the idea of keeping them together, in a slightly more mature environment outside classes sounded the longer, the better. "After the war, I could use a place inside these walls where I'm not constantly reminded of my participation in the war, and I assume others could use it as a sanctuary, free from accusations and such."

"I only ask an exception for Ginny so she can share my dorm, but beyond that, I'm completely on board with Hermione's idea." Harry didn't waste any time, standing shoulder to shoulder with his friend. "Ginny and I shared a bed the entire summer vacation with Molly's permission, Professor… I'm sorry... I mean, Headmistress. "

"You understand that I need written parental consent to allow such liberty." Minerva stared at Harry from above her glasses. Harry bobbed swiftly. "Well, do you all share Miss Granger's opinion?"

Pansy took a deep breath, "Honestly, dealing with first and second years in our common room is not something I'm looking forward to. Working together on those challenges bonded us, Headmistress, a bond that I would like to keep alive. Furthermore, it would improve the unity you desire so much."

Draco came forward, "I expect that the majority will not be happy to see me return. Hermione's suggestion will indeed provide me with a place where I can be in peace, away from all heading my way."

For a heartbeat, the room was silent. Draco's statement did contain a ring of truth. But his observation bore something more than promoting a retreat for those on the wrong side of the war. Minerva adventured to utter another theory, "Can I assume that, in time, some rooms might become couple quarters as they are originally designed?"

At this, at least five persons flushed instantly, Hermione's came with some delay but was obviously present. Exhaling hearable, Minerva accepted, "Very well but under one condition. I expect that all female students go to Madam Pomfrey and take the necessary precautions. Starting a family needs to be a conscious decision after you all pass your N.E.W.T's."

Even the wizards got red ears. To receive the sex-talk from someone like Minerva McGonagall was, to say the least, embarrassing as hell. Nevertheless, the six nodded, witches and wizards alike. Speaking of being speechless. Still dumb-founded, Minerva waved them a dismissing hand and the ten took off nearly immediately. The newest Head of Hogwarts sunk in her seat, still gathering her thoughts. _I wouldn't have guessed this in a million years._

-oOo-

After a proper meal, the group headed to Hogsmeade carrying the sports bags on their backs totally forgetting to use their wands instead. It was time to return home and prepare for a new year at the beloved castle. They all squeezed into one compartment, Tracey using Neville's lap as her seat and a bold Pansy doing similar to Ron to save some room. Ron was clueless about what to do with his arm, but the witch caught his purposeless hand and set it on her thigh. Instantly, he flushed but kept his hand where it stood. Softer wasn't to be found.

Aside from pitching a few ideas back and forth, regarding their new common room - plans that included firewhiskey and smoking some pot - they kept it to small talk. Hermione objected a time or two but yielded under pressure. They were adults, after all, and what they planned didn't fall under illegal activities, strictly speaking.

But the train's gentle beat lulled them into sleep, it was the Atrium all over. Blaise curling against Harry this time - whose head rested against the window, and Theo's leaning on the tanned wizard's back. When Hermione's head rolled onto Draco's shoulder, he hoisted her legs over his limbs and pulled her tighter, wrapping an arm around her back. Eventually, also he fell prey to the temptation of a soothing nap.

-oOo-

At the platform, Hermione raised a muffliato around Draco and her to provide some privacy, after saying her goodbye's to the rest.

"Where are you heading now?" The blond asked one of the questions on the tip of his tongue, shoving a rebel curl behind her ear.

"Home, to pack my trunk for tomorrow, and then I'm heading to the Burrow, to spend the night there." She was nervous, for some reason.

"Ah, the Burrow." He offered his palms when her gaze darkened, "I mean no harm, I… never mind."

"You can't say A without saying B too, Draco." Her bullshite-o-meter coloured red.

"I...wanted to suggest us to go somewhere alone… we could use some privacy..."

Hermione interrupted him, "Between the Malfoy Manor and me, there is no love story, it's too fresh in my memory."

"I'm well aware, little swot." He huffed, shoving a hand through his tresses, "I didn't have the Manor in mind. I thought to go to a hotel in Muggle London or something." Her snort irritated him, "Hey! Alright, forget it… a stupid thought of mine."

"What you are suggesting is something I'm not ready for. I want us to explore whatever we started in France. Moreover, us merging our sleeping arrangements at Hogwarts doesn't sound impossible. But I don't want to throw myself headlong into whatever this becomes."

"Hermione…"

"Draco, I'm not saying no to you and me. I'm saying let us take it easy. A week of challenges isn't enough for me to discover who Draco Malfoy is behind the haughty mask. I saw a glimpse that spikes my interest, only, I want to see more, to know more…"

"Will you share a compartment with me at the train tomorrow?" He prided himself into not imposing himself on a woman.

"Save me a seat." She kissed him softly. "Dream of me, ferret."

"Little swot," the corners of his mouth curled into a smile, "Your name will be on my lips…" her breath stoked, knowing what was coming next, "While I wank to the memories of your body underneath me."

At first, she was speechless, "You have a dirty mind." Her breath came in short spurts, his voice sending jolts down her spine.

"Also, that is an element inherent to Draco Malfoy, little swot." It was far from what he wanted, but she set the pace, and he accepted. He fucked up his life already enough, but Hermione Granger wasn't someone that he wanted to add to that list. The brief thought of how to break this down to his parents was a predicament he would deal with, timely. Even the idea of an ultimatum crossed his mind more than once. Time would tell.

Her quirky comeback brought him back to the present, "Then, I wish you a good night with your hand, Mr. Malfoy. I'll see you tomorrow and expect a proper report about your nightly activity." If flirting was what he wanted…

She left him behind after blowing a kiss in the air.

On one side, she wondered if it was a good decision to get involved with one Draco Malfoy. On the other, he woke in her something that nor Ron or Viktor succeeded to do. A fluttering worth exploring.

She didn't exclude many additional intimate moments preferable without an audience, nor did the idea of sharing a room with him scare her off in the long run. But she was stepping into this adventure with eyes wide open and fully conscious of the consequences, instead of diving blindly into a relationship that eventually could turn out to be her worst decision ever.

Time would tell. Her N.E.W.T.s mattered, and so did her sanity. Her heart, however, was probably already a lost cause…

* **To Be Continued** *

* * *

The chef proof isn't a creation of mine... it is a real test and has happened in several episodes of Fort Boyard, check it out if you want. Personally, I would've chosen the jail time instead... haha.

To see the inside of the Treasure Room, take a peek at my Tumblr: ruthy4vrsmoak-ed dot tumblr dot com

I'm not saying no to a follow-up, enter the open ending. But at this point, I don't have a plunny that suits my taste - eight-year, maturely written. I'll give you a shout, if such miraculously appears! Thank you for travelling with me on this French journey.


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